Michelin Challenge Design 2014 Finalists Announced

Finalists hail from Canada, Mexico, Italy, China, South Korea, Poland, Serbia and Guatemala

GREENVILLE, S.C. (Sept. 23, 2013) – Michelin today announced the names and home countries of the 15 finalists of the 2014 Michelin Challenge Design, Driven/Undriven: The Duality of Tomorrow’s Automobile.

Works by individuals and teams of designers from Italy, China, South Korea, Finland, Serbia, Canada, Brazil, Mexico and Guatemala were selected by a distinguished jury of the world’s top automotive designers and industry experts.

The winning designs were chosen from more than 900 registrants representing 74 countries. Now in its thirteenth year, Michelin Challenge Design has received over 6,000 entries from 110 countries.

Three of this year’s finalists will be invited to attend NAIAS as guests of Michelin and be recognized during Michelin’s annual private Designer’s Reception. Michelin will display the designs of all 15 finalists at the 2014 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit in January.

The 2014 Michelin Challenge Design finalist entries are (in alphabetical order):

  • Ludovico Campana, Seunghun Jeong  – Italy
  • Chuang Dong, Zhen Qiu, Haowen Deng – China
  • Takbeom Heogh – South Korea
  • Do hyung Kim, San hyun Eom, San sung Moon – South Korea
  • Da-eun Lee – South Korea
  • Jungu Lee – South Korea
  • Chris Luchowiec – Poland
  • Marko Lukovic – Serbia
  • Fernando Machado – Brazil
  • Dong-woo Nam – South Korea
  • Amadou Ba Ndiaye – Canada
  • Ramon Ramirez Perez – Mexico
  • Cristian Polanco – Guatemala
  • Kyoung-duck Ryu – South Korea
  • Sun Zongheng – China

 

“Michelin Challenge Design provides a window into the future of sustainable mobility as technical innovations, societal needs and consumer demands take us into dramatically different directions,” said Thom Roach, vice president of original equipment marketing for Michelin North and South America. “The scope of change and the speed at which change is taking place makes this an exciting time for designers and technical innovators. The quality and range of designs reflected by the entries is impressive, and we are deeply grateful to the design leaders who comprise our jury and help us to identify and recognize creative designs from all over the world.”

“The topic of autonomy will bring maybe the most freedom yet in the use of personal and public transport,” said Stewart Reed, Michelin Challenge Design jury chairman and Chair of the Transportation Design Department, Art Center College of Design. “Some would say that autonomous vehicles are in fact the mass transit of the future—imagine a lot of autonomous vehicles clustered together and actually moving as a single larger vehicle, much like a school of fish will cluster and take on the shape of a larger fish to protect themselves. So we saw some great proposals from students and designers all over the world that suggested a bio-mimicry approach to autonomy.”

2014 Michelin Challenge Design Jury
The 2014 Michelin Challenge Design jurors are:

  • Chris Chapman, Chief Designer, Hyundai America Technical Center
  • Hubert Lee, Creative Director, Mercedes Benz Advanced Design North America
  • Dave Marek, Division Director Advanced Design, Honda R&D-Americas
  • Rich Plavetich, General Manager, Nissan Design America
  • Stewart Reed; Chair, Transportation Design Department, Art Center College of Design, Consultant and Jury Chairman, Michelin Challenge Design
  • Frank Saucedo, Director, General Motors Advanced Design Studio
  • Freeman Thomas, Director, Strategic Design, Ford Motor Company

 

About Michelin
Dedicated to the improvement of sustainable mobility, Michelin designs, manufactures and sells tires for every type of vehicle, including airplanes, automobiles, bicycles, earthmovers, farm equipment, heavy-duty trucks and motorcycles. The company also publishes travel guides, hotel and restaurant guides, maps and road atlases. Headquartered in Greenville, S.C., Michelin North America (www.michelin-us.com) employs more than 22,200 and operates 18 major manufacturing plants in 16 locations.

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For more information and images, visit www.michelinchallengedesign.com or contact:

Brian Remsberg
Michelin North America, Inc.
office: 1 864 458 5908
mobile: 1 864 561 7459
brian.remsberg@us.michelin.com 

John Love
EMC Strategic Communications
office: 1 248 816 0106
mobile: 1 313 506 2114
john@emcstrategic.com