2020 CAR DESIGN AWARDS ASSIGNED TO HYUNDAI, FERRARI AND PORSCHE
The design teams of Hyundai for the Prophecy, Ferrari for the Roma and Porsche for the design language of its entire range were the winners of the Car Design Award 2020, the Oscar of world automotive styling established in 1984 on the initiative of Auto&Design.
Due to the international situation and the restrictions imposed by the coronavirus pandemic, the award ceremony took place digitally and was broadcast from Turin on the Car Design Award YouTube channel. An unprecedented milestone in the history of the award, but also an opportunity for audiences around the world to enjoy the event.
The Car Design Award is divided into three categories: two of them, “Concept Cars” and “Production Cars”, are historical and have been joined by a third, “Brand Design Language”, an award to the design team that has worked best to maintain the consistency and transversality of a brand’s formal language over the entire product range.
The winners of the 2020 edition are:
- for the Concept Cars section, the Hyundai design team for the Prophecy project; in second place Bentley design for the EXP 100 GT; in third place the Seat-Cupra team for the Cupra Tavascan.
- in the Production Cars section, the award for best project went to Ferrari design for the Roma; second and third place respectively to the authors of the Porsche Taycan and Land Rover Defender projects.
- for the Brand Design Language section, the award was assigned to the Porsche team, followed by the Peugeot and Mazda design teams in second and third places respectively.
The winners were decided by a jury of experts in the form of journalists from the most prestigious international car magazines, so guaranteeing an objective judgment on the world car design scene. “This is the first digital ceremony in the history of the Car Design Award – a recognition that, we would remind you, goes to the design team that created the project: thanks to the online format, we are able to connect from all over the world and congratulate the winning team by zooming directly into the design centre where the car or range of models that won the award took shape”, remarked Silvia Baruffaldi, Editor of Auto&Design and Chairman of the Jury.
To the winners went the trophies designed and created by Brembo, partner of the prize since its revival. “At Brembo we have a great passion for design. We want our products always to combine style and beauty with performance, quality and durability. Even under the most extreme usage conditions, such as racing. This year for the trophies we decided to use a portion of the carbon disc we supply to all the teams in the Formula E Championship”, explained Alberto Ferrari, Marketing Manager at Brembo.
Organised by Auto&Design magazine, the Car Design Award is assigned by an international jury consisting of representatives of some of the most prestigious automotive magazines from around the world:
Silvia Baruffaldi (Auto&Design, Italy)
Tom Drechsler (AutoBild, Germany)
Todd Lassa (Automobile Magazine, USA)
Stéphane Meunier (L’Automobile Magazine, France)
Luca Ciferri (Automotive News Europe, EU)
Juan Carlos Payo Calderon (Autopista, Spain)
Dhruv Behl (AutoX, India)
Tetsuya Kato (Car Graphic, Japan)
Jun Miao (MJ CarShow, China)
Paulo Campo Grande (Quatro Rodas, Brazil)
Kibeom Kim (Roadtest, Korea)
Charlie Turner (Top Gear, UK)
CAR DESIGN AWARD 2020, JURY MOTIVATIONS
CONCEPT CARS, HYUNDAI PROPHECY
Hyundai says streamlined sedans of the 1920s and ‘30s inspired the Prophecy shape. “Nautical” inspiration came in the form of such details as the heat-extracting, propeller-style wheels. Rather than mimic a conventionally powered car, the Hyundai Prophecy has no grille between its pixel headlamps, and the pixel design repeats with taillamps that give the rear a sports car-like flourish.
PRODUCTION CARS, FERRARI ROMA
It would be a great understatement to say that the Ferrari Design team, led by Flavio Manzoni, have done an incredible job with the Roma, which takes the lines of a traditional grand tourer and catapults it into the 21st century with a shape that’s sensual, evocative and cutting edge in equal measure.
BRAND DESIGN LANGUAGE, PORSCHE DESIGN
Over the years Porsche has managed to evolve one of the most iconic designs in the history of cars. Today’s range combines its enviable heritage with technological innovation to create a highly contemporary and at the same time unmistakable image in luxury sports cars. Working in concert with engineering, the Porsche design team has also been able to adapt styling cues and proportions to the new architectures made possible by electrification.
WINNERS OF THE PAST EDITIONS
| Year | Concept Cars | Production Cars | Brand Design Language |
| 2016 | Mazda RX-Vision | Aston Martin DB11 | Volvo Cars |
| 2017 | Jaguar I-Pace | Ford GT | Land Rover |
| 2018 | Honda Urban EV | Jaguar E-Pace | Volvo Cars |
| 2019 | Alfa Romeo Tonale | Peugeot 208 | Citroën |
