Since 2013, FCA has held the Drive for Design competition, which is like American Idol meets The Voice meets a non-singing, automotive design competition. What started in Detroit has now grown into an annual nationwide event, and what keeps it interesting is that it’s open only to high school students.
“Even though it’s a growing field, automotive design can often be overlooked by students entering the workforce, so our goal with this competition is to change that perspective and encourage promising talent to pursue opportunities where they could design the vehicles of the future,” said Mark Trostle, Head of Performance, Passenger Car and Utility Vehicle Design for FCA, North America. He won a similar contest while he was in high school.
The theme of Drive for Design changes each year. This year’s was to design the “ultimate status vehicle” based on any FCA brand. Past themes have included Dodge for 30 years in the future, a Jeep Wrangler for 2030, and Dodge SRT Hellcat for 2025.
The winners of the 7th Drive for Design were, in First place, Maximillian Cooper, Design and Architecture Senior High, Miami; Mason Ross in Second place, Kennedy Catholic High School, Burien, Washington; and Vincent Piaskowski in Third place, Ernest W. Seaholm High School, Birmingham, Michigan.
Winning scored each of them a VIP tour of the FCA U.S. Product Design studios in Michigan and private meetings with auto designers. Perhaps coolest of all is that they get a scholarship to the Precollege Summer Experience Transportation Design program at the College for Creative Studies, where they’ll have more intense schooling on sketching concepts and turning designs into 3D models.
To learn more about the competition and winners, head to fcadrivefordesign.com.
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