2026 CAR DESIGN AWARDS GO TO AUDI, RENAULT AND JEEP
The design teams of Audi for the Concept C project, of Renault for the Twingo E-Tech Electric and Jeep for its Brand Design Language are the winners of the 2026 Car Design Award, the Oscar of world car design established in 1984 by the Auto&Design magazine.
The award ceremony was held in Milan at the renowned ADI Design Museum today, April 22nd, during the Milano Design Week. The event was opened by an exclusive “Sustainable Intelligence – Design in the age of AI” talk with Chris Lefteri, Alcantara Design Ambassador and Advocate, Luca Borgogno, IAAD. Transportation Design Strategic Director, Florian Seidl, Lavazza Design Manager and Alessandro Belosio, ToyotaED2 Assistant Chief Interior Designer.
The Car Design Award includes three categories: “Concept Cars”, “Production Cars” and “Brand Design Language”, the latter an award given to the design team that has stood out for the consistency and transversality of its brand’s formal language across its whole product range.
The winners of the 2026 edition, chosen from a shortlist of ten finalists, are:
- in the Concept Cars category, the Audi design team for the Concept C project
- in second place the Genesis team for the Magma GT
- in third place the Citroën design team for the ELO
- for Production Cars, the Renault Design for itsTwingo E-Tech Electric
- in second place the team of BMW design for the iX3
- on the third step of the podium, the Ferrari team for the 849 Testarossa
- for the Brand Design Language section, the design language of the whole brand, the award went to the Jeep design team
- the Genesis design team came second; BMW and Dacia tied for third place.
“The Car Design Award has established itself as one of the most prestigious international awards dedicated to automotive design, celebrating vision, innovation and design culture. Hosted at the ADI Design Museum, the award is not only a tribute to the creative excellence of design centers, but also a unique opportunity to explore the design languages and challenges that are redefining contemporary mobility”, said Silvia Baruffaldi, Editor of Auto&Design and President of the Award Jury.
For the third consecutive year, ERRE Company puts its signature on Traccia. The Car Design Award 2026 trophy, evolving the project thanks to a strongly sustainability-oriented approach. The base was created through filament 3D printing techniques. Furthermore, thanks to an exclusive collaboration with Lavazza, spent coffee grounds were placed in the heart of the trophy. Alcantara® is present in a new triad of colours and enriched by a parametric pattern created by ERRE’s designers; the “trace”, a distinctive element of the trophy, is proposed in a new transparent outfit, also made with 3D printing technology.
CAR DESIGN AWARD 2026, JURY MOTIVATIONS
CONCEPT CARS, Audi Concept C
“Concept C brings minimalism back to the heart of contemporary car design, with a pure and coherent form that appears sculpted from a single block of aluminium, faithful to the brand’s heritage yet futuristic. A masterclass in ‘radical simplicity,’ where clarity, technology, and emotion merge into a work of profound design intelligence.”
PRODUCTION CARS, Renault Twingo E-Tech Electric
“Highly identity-driven, the vibrant design of the Twingo E-Tech Electric intelligently blends style, charm, and accessibility. It is a city car capable of transforming a small footprint into an authentic design statement, tastefully evoking the original Twingo’s one-box shape to win over both those who lived through the ’90s and those discovering it today.”
BRAND DESIGN LANGUAGE, Jeep
“Without ever betraying its origins, Jeep design reinterprets unmistakable semantic elements — such as the seven-slot grille and trapezoidal wheel arches — transforming them into universal symbols of adventure and freedom. In the era of energy transition, it continues to shape the collective imagination of exploration, making authenticity the cornerstone of every creation.”
THE JURY
The winners were chosen by a jury of experts, all journalists from leading international automotive publications, for an objective assessment of the global car design scene:
Brazil: Paulo Campo Grande, Quatro Rodas, Editor
China: Jun Miao, MJ CarShow, Chief Editor
South Korea: Kibeom Kim, Roadtest, Publisher & Editor in Chief
Europe: Luca Ciferri, Automotive News Europe, Editor & Associate Publisher
France: Stéphane Meunier, L’Automobile Magazine, Editor in Chief
Germany: Michael Köckritz, Publisher, Editor-in-Chief and Creative Director Ramp.Space
Japan: Tetsuya Kato, Car Graphic, Publisher
India: Dhruv Behl, AutoX, Founder & Managing Editor
Italy: Silvia Baruffaldi, Auto&Design, Editor
United Kingdom: Andy Franklin, Top Gear, Creative Director
Spain: Juan Carlos Payo Calderon, Mobilitas Group, General Director
THE WINNERS OF THE PAST EDITIONS OF THE CAR DESIGN AWARD
| 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 |
| 2020 | Hyundai Prophecy | Ferrari Roma | Porsche |
| 2021 | Canoo Pick-up EV | Land Rover Defender 90 | Peugeot |
| 2022 | Toyota Compact Cruiser EV | Ferrari 296 GTB | Polestar |
| 2023 | Genesis X Convertible | Ferrari Purosangue | Ferrari |
| 2024 | BMW Neue Klasse Vision | Volvo EX30 | Kia |
| 2025 | Lotus Theory 1 | Ferrari 12Cilindri | Renault |
