Each year worldwide tire maker Michelin challenges designers around the world, from students to major design firms, to submit new ideas and compete for the opportunity to display their work at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

The 2008 Michelin Challenge Design at the NAIAS 2008 focused on designs for smaller vehicles that include innovations to make them safer, particularly in urban settings.

Michelin chose this year's theme because of the increased interest in smaller vehicles in the face of rising energy costs, urban congestion and environmental concerns. Entrants were encouraged to come up with design innovations that would improve safety by focusing on accident avoidance, enhanced driver controls, survivability and visibility.

Designers were also encouraged to present innovative approaches to vehicle ingress and egress, side-impact protection, occupant protection volume, seating arrangement, vehicle dimensions and proportions.

This year Michelin received 272 entries from 51 different countries, with the top entries earning notoriety at the NAIAS display. In addition to three full-size vehicles, the Michelin Challenge Design also showcased scale models and drawings from 28 individuals and companies around the world.

 

Full-Size Vehicle Winners

The three full-size vehicles chosen to be displayed at NAIAS 2008 were the Citroen C-SportLounge, Dodge Hornet and Nissan Effis. A new interpretation of a grand touring car, the Citroen C-SportLounge has a distinctive, powerful but very aerodynamic exterior design finished in brilliant yellow.

With a wide, low stance, the rally-inspired Dodge Hornet combines a small engine and small overall size with an aggressive look and flexible interior space. Considered a B-segment car, the Dodge Hornet was designed to be nimble and fun to drive, while delivering interior room typically found in a larger vehicle.

Conceived as the ideal commuter vehicle for an urban environment, Nissan Effis is a compact, lightweight and eco-friendly fuel-cell vehicle that Nissan calls a 3.5-Seater. The instrument panel can be reconfigured to offer 3+1 person seating, but with only 1 person in the vehicle the “rotational instrument pane” extends to provide a rotary table for the driver in the position where the front-seat passenger would sit.

Scale Models and Drawings

A wide variety of innovative and creative transportation solutions are represented by the scale models and drawings chose for Challenge Design 2008, including Drop, a 1-passenger individual pod with magnetized rubber spheres for wheels, designed by Rubem De Floriani of Brazil.

Chess was designed by Thijs van der Zanden and Frans Hegge of Belgium, with a passenger cell mounted to a platform that contains the chassis and engine and the passenger cell can be moved on the platform for greater passenger safety during a crash.

A three-wheeled sports car with an exposed frame, MSZR was designed by 22-year-old Shouzheng Ming, who was born and raised in China and is currently a student in the School of Automotive Engineering at the Wuhan University of Technology.

A distinguished panel of judges representing car companies, design studios, aviation, education and the media selected the concept cars, models and drawings for exhibit at Michelin Challenge Design.

"Michelin launched the annual Michelin Challenge Design in 2000, to celebrate, promote, and give visibility to creative thinking and innovation in vehicle design," explained Tom Chubb, vice president of marketing for Michelin's Automotive Industry Division. "We engage the design community, by creating challenges that require the integration of technical innovation with transportation design."

Michelin announced at NAIAS 2008 that the 2009 theme for Michelin Challenge Design will ask entrants to share their brave, bold vision for America's Next Iconic Vehicle.