renault 4 ever design competition: award ceremony
designboom DESIGN-AEROBICS competitions interviews art architecture design technology shop

renault 4 ever design competition: award ceremony


at the renault 4 ever awards presentation and ceremony, first prize winner mark cunningham with his award: a R4 vintage rally original
image © renault

the renault 4 ever competition, held by renault in accordance with designboom, asked contestants to redesign the classic R4 model,
respecting the signature design. the RENAULT 4 has been the third bestselling model in automobile history and
has become an international pop style icon.

criteria
designers were asked to keep a certain likeness while putting it into today's context.
like its illustrious predecessor, the new generation Renault 4-ever will be a people-centered vehicle. 
drawing from the heritage of the iconic original '4L', it will be a simple, practical, reliable and affordable car offering mobility for all.
crucially, as a 21st century vehicle, it will be designed with the future in mind and according to the principles of the circular economy,
aiming at achieving a positive impact on the environment rather than simply focusing on being slightly 'less bad'. 

jury
3273 individuals and teams have participate in this competition. 
together with designboom, the jury members were :
ellen macarthur, founder of the ellen macarthur foundation,
maï ikuzawa, founder of bow wow international agency,
benoit bochard, renault product planning director for compact cars
and laurens van den acker, head of renault's design department. 
 
awards
the first prize is a renault 4 that michel leclère (ex formula 1 driver) has driven in the 2011 historic rallye monte carlo.
the second price is 5000 euro
the third price is 3000 euro


introducing the award, laurens van den acker, head of the design department of renault, reminds us of the innovative development of the original R4.
image © renault
the RENAULT 4, first presented in 1961, was an industrial mass-production model.
its innovative, low-cost but effective solutions embraced the entire population.
not only in france, and europe, but worldwide, as it transcended social boundaries.
before ceasing production in 1994, the R4 reached a total distribution of 8,135,424 cars in more than 100 countries.
like denim jeans which are worn the world over by all classes, its creator and former president of renault,
pierre dreyfus launched the renault 4 as 'the blue jeans car'.



first, second and third prize winners   
image © renault/designboom
we would like to thank everyone who participated, it has been an exciting project.
the three winning entries are ...
the third prize went to allen zadeh from USA, for 'eleve'.
the second prize winners were yann terrer and jérôme garzon from france: they submitted 'r4 rally'.
the first award went to mark cunningham from the UK, for the 'r4volution'.

editor's side note:
during the ceremony, the designers got to know each other and interesting personal details arose.
although the competition was international, and entries flowed in from all around the world, it turned out
that all the winners had a personal connection to france. allen zadeh, the third prize winner,
has a french girlfriend, who acted as the stylist as he was designing the car. the second prize winners,
yann terrer and jérôme garzon are from france. mark cunningham's wife is french, and, when he won the car,
he proclaimed he will keep it in france instead of transporting it to the UK. he looks forward to each trip to france
with his wife and children in order to drive his historic renault. he also stated that he will pass this car onto his
children when they grow up.  
 


third prize winner allen zadeh accepting his award
image © designboom

this model converts it into a versatile cabrio with multiple possible configurations, introducing interactivity to appeal to a younger demographic.
named after the french word for 'student', 'eleve' is designed for flexibility, featuring exchangeable exterior panels and an easily modifiable
construction. making use of technological and ecological innovations, the vehicle's exterior panels are made of natural composites,
and all interior parts are likewise made out of recycled textiles.

third prize entry

rendering of design



the second place award went to yann terrer + jerome garzon for 'r4 rally' 
image © designboom

focusing on the energy cycle, this proposed redesign is a solar-powered vehicle which integrates nanotechnology with environmentally
friendly materials. based on the iconic outlines of the renault 4, 'r4 rally' adds sustainable factors to improve efficiency during the car's
manufacture as well as its use.


second prize entry

rendering of r4 rally by yann terrer and jérôme garzon


made of stretched textiles on a tubular structure, the body uses considerably less energy during production than a conventional one made of steel.
the doors are also open structures that require less material for manufacture. using nanotechnology, this body fabric allows solar energy to be
absorbed and harnessed; the glass window surfaces are likewise converted into solar panels. having observed that the majority of a car's life
is spent unused and immobile, 'r4 rally' gives parked cars the new function of generating electricity--for both its own battery and general domestic use.



the first prize went to mark cunningham for 'r4volution'  
image © renault

car ownership follows the logic of the circular economy in a system where the vehicle and the engine unit are owned separately.
the engine and gearbox are 'umbilically linked' to the car's drive, permitting the engine to be upgraded over the course of the car's life.
cunningham envisions the car as being available as a full electric model or with an efficient gasoline-based unit.
the modular engine system also means that users can purchase the car with the less expensive gasoline (petrol) engine,
and switch to an electric configuration later on, dividing the cost. traded-in engines would be used by renault
for a discounted line of certified pre-owned units.


first prize entry

cunningham's winning design
diagram of winning entry



fist prize winner mark cunningham and renault design director laurens van den acker   
image © designboom



the first prize was an original R4 rally, here unveiled   
image © renault 



 jury member maï ikuzawa, daughter of racer tetsu ikuzawa and car enthusiast, trying out the historic R4 rally
image © designboom



cunningham received the renault 4 that michel leclère (ex formula 1 driver) has driven in the 2011 historic rallye monte-carlo




awards ceremony   
image © renault 



judges and winners of the 'renault 4 ever' competition  
image © designboom

see more shortlisted entries here.
to see more images of the event visit renault's facebook album. 

bora db
10.27.11  
3
This was a cool contest and i had wished to have participated but was thwarted by poor 3D design skills
some guy   10.27.11
Such a sweet prize! and that girl is HOT!
Reggie   10.27.11
Though im not happy with any of the three final designs, we finally see the true vision or intent of Renault. It took the competition to bring that out. I too have a vision of the new car but lack the 3D rendering skills for a project like this so i couldnt enter. Anyway im glad for everyone that a stage has been concluded as a step in producing the next great R4. Congradulations to the three!
charles   10.28.11
renault 4 ever (12 articles)

RENAULT 4 ever behind-the-scenes
design | 01.11.12

thousands of you entered from across the world; now take an exclusive video look behind the scenes of the RENAULT 4 EVER car redesign competition!

19

RENAULT 4 ever shortlist
design | 08.29.11

designboom in collaboration with RENAULT is pleased to announce the winners and shortlisted entries of the RENAULT 4 EVER competition.

0

marco van leeuwen: renault 4 remake
design | 08.01.11

this concept car which maintains the look of the original, but permits user customization to increase utility. it was shortlisted from over 3200 submissions in designboom's RENAULT 4 EVER competition.

82

ccdstudio: new center for childhood
READER'S SUBMISSION

this project is the result of two municipal programs coming together to create a new structure and urban identity for the commu...

alejandro delgado: amparo
READER'S SUBMISSION a handcrafted light object made of recycled cardboard that is modeled after the representative rituals of the colombia pacific region.

tom sachs: space program - mar

art

designboom has visited the american artist's most recent space odyssey installation exploring NASA's mars missions at the armor...

nendo: still & sparkling f

design

the collection of delicate pieces rejects traditional glassblowing techniques, embracing instead the irregularities typically c...

design time breil award ceremony
DESIGNBOOM COMPETITIONS the designs explore a variety of topics from comic memorabilia to pop culture. s

curved visions digital art competit
DESIGNBOOM COMPETITIONS designboom in collaboration with INFINITI is excited to announce the CURVED VISI

GRAPHIC DESIGN - may 17 - july 17
DESIGN - AEROBICS make graphic design work for you. with this course you’ll enhance your understanding of the basics and learn more about emerging developments within the field.

SHOPPING - may 17 - july 17
DESIGN - AEROBICS we'll look at the seamless way in which design and consumer culture cross paths, with a focus on; shop design, packaging, carts, carriers, online shopping and markets.
designboom news
348,805 subscribers

keep up to date with recent articles and upcoming events.
to receive both newsletters please check 2 boxes.

DAILY - see sample BIWEEKLY -see sample
© copyrights 2000 - 2012 designboom, all rights reserved. all material published remains the exclusive copyright of designboom.
no contents, including text, photographs, videos, etc. may be reproduced in whole or in part without the written consent of designboom. in addition,
no material or contents may be reproduced on the world wide web by techniques of mirroring, framing, posting, etc. without the written consent of designboom.