Toyota’s global Dream Car Art Contest, for children up to 15 years old, asks: “What does your dream car look like?” This year’s entries, from 81 countries and regions, were narrowed down to 30 finalists, who flew to Japan with their families for an award ceremony earlier this week, hosted by Toyota President Akio Toyoda.
Three age categories (under 7, 8–11 and 12–15) were awarded one Gold, two Silver, three Bronze and four Best Finalist awards — meaning every international participant who attended the ceremony walked away with a prize. In addition, one work of art was chosen as the Engineering Inspiration Award, selected by Toyota Executive Vice President Mitsuhisa Kato, for reproduction as a 3D model.
Nano Car by Azul Paz Servin Rodas (Paraguay), Gold Award/12-15 years old: “The Nano car is a tiny vehicle that, due to its size, works at an atomic scale in order to transform the environment and heal the damage caused by human nature. It can be driven by remote control or by the driver who can be reduced by the same technology.”
Azul Paz Servin Rodas, Toyota Motor Corp.
The Gold Award winners were “Toyota Alpha-Bird Car – The Universal Language Car” by Sethumdee Dulanya Dewagamage, 7 years old (Sri Lanka); “Toyota Robo-Fly for girls in need” by Ada Maria Ciontu, 11 years old (Romania); and “Nano Car” by Azul Paz Servin Rodas, 13 years old (Paraguay).
A universal theme among the young artists was concern for the environment and humanity, as displayed by cars that could educate children, recycle, eliminate pollution and even promote world peace. No small challenge for Toyota (and other carmakers) to answer the call to action – and if these creative kids are the next generation of automotive designers, we can bet that autonomous vehicles are just the tip of the iceberg.
Toyota Arctic Car by Jose Manuel Bastida (Canary Islands), Bronze Award/12-15 years old: “It flies over the Arctic absorbing sea water by long hoses. It produces ice and snow which are used to avoid melting icecaps. It works by solar energy.”
Jose Manuel Bastida, Toyota Motor Corp.
For more information, including the complete gallery of images, visit the Toyota Dream Car Art Contest website.
