The winners of FCA’s 2018 Drive for Design contest
have been announced after U.S. high school students in grades 10-12 were tasked
with designing a Jeep Wrangler for the year 2030.
Taking top honors was Eduard Cret from Design and Architecture
Senior High in Miami, Florida. Second place was awarded to Emily Bryson, also
from Design and Architecture Senior High while third place was claimed by Jinho
So from the Canisius High School in Buffalo, New York.
Of the three, it is the winner’s design which we
like the most. Like the current Wrangler, it has a boxy and compact shape and
has been imagined in two-door guise with flared wheel arches painted in bright
orange and complemented with orange side skirts.
At the front, the Wrangler includes a bold and
aggressive hood with large air extractors as well as a pair of LED headlights
and slim turn signals. The front grille also appears to be a large display that
can show a variety of images.
While these elements of the Wrangler are cool, there’s
one part which stands out; the windscreen. The windscreen is made from a large
piece of glass that’s bent in the center and stretches over a foot onto the
off-roader’s roof. Such a design could probably never pass crash regulations
but it certainly creates an interesting look and would make the driving
experience that little more unique.
The three winners will enjoy a day at the FCA US
Product Design studios, a two-week summer automotive design course at Lawrence
Technological University, an Apple iPad and Apple Pencil, Wacom MobileStudio
Pro 16 and passes to the ‘EyesOn Design Automotive Design Exhibition’ in
Michigan.
