Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles has selected winners for its 2018 Drive For Design contest. The challenge this year was to pen what the 2030 Jeep Wrangler could look like, and three students took home the top prize.
The first place sketch (shown above) is the work of Eduard Cret of Miami, Florida. Cret's design shows a very futuristic look for the Wrangler with a digital grille of sorts. The Wrangler's traditional boxy shape remains with simple lines and splash of orange to color the chiseled black bodywork.
FCA 2018 Drive For Design winners
Second place went to Emily Bryson, also of Miami. Bryson took on a design ethos that appears more retro in nature. We can certainly tell the sketch depicts a Wrangler with round headlights and a slimmer take on the Jeep slotted grille. We do see hints of Ford Bronco in the overall shape, but the design is, overall, very Wrangler.
FCA 2018 Drive For Design winners
Finally, FCA awarded third place to Jinho So of Buffalo, New York. So's sketch is isn't in color and isn't as fleshed out as the others, but it's also the most radical of the bunch. It's filled with rounder body lines and flowing shapes—very different from the boxy and upright shape we know of the Wrangler today. In fact, we see more Cherokee and Grand Cherokee in So's sketch than anything, but it's still pleasing to look at with squinty eyes and a minimalistic grille.
The three students have each won a behind-the-scenes tour of the FCA U.S. Product Design studios where they will get the chance to work one-on-one with a professional automotive designer. Each student will head to a two-week-long automotive design course at Lawrence Technological University, and receive passes to the “EyesOn Design Automotive Design Exhibition” in Grosse Pointe Shores, Michigan, on June 17.
To help them continue creating, FCA will also award each of the winning students a Wacom MobileStudio Pro 16 computer and an iPad with an Apple Pencil.
Congratulations to what may become the next generation of designers.
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