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

renault 4 ever design competition: award ceremony - 2

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.

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