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
respecting the signature design. the RENAULT 4 has been the third bestselling model in automobile history and
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.
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.
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
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
the three winning entries are …
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:
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.
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This was a cool contest and i had wished to have participated but was thwarted by poor 3D design skills
Such a sweet prize! and that girl is HOT!
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!