Opel Car Design Competition Tops 200 Entrants

The initiative launched by the German automaker last month is already enjoying a great deal of success, as Opel announced today that it has surpassed 200 entrants to its design competition.The student designers have tried to answer the question, “What do you think is Opel’s lounge style?”.

The competition is open to design students of any discipline at a college in Europe. The winner will work as a paid intern at Opel Design Center in Russelsheim.

This week, four judges began to interact on the site. Their “Tips from the Top” blog entries appear in the bottom left-hand corner of the site’s home page. There, judges comment on individual entries and provide guidance to students on how to develop their ideas.

As part of the registration process, the students have to create an avatar and – in some cases – an alias, giving everyone a unique identity on the site. Unsurprisingly – given the lounge theme – seats are a primary concern in many entries.

Elizabeth Wetzel, Opel’s Director of Interior Design, leads the judging panel. Wetzel is joined by Anne Asensio, Vice President of Design Experience at Dassault Systemes in France; Guy Bird, renowned design editor and writer, for Wallpaper, Design Week and Intersection; and Eric Gallina, editor of Car Design News.

“Anyone can follow and register to comment on the site, not just students or those in the EU. The competition is intended to encourage and promote the use of social media and web-based tools to help develop car designs. The competition is supported by Dassault Systemes and Dinamica by Miko,” a company statement from Opel reads.

Entries for Opel's car design competition can be submitted by accessing the following link.