Winners of FCA’s 2017 Drive for Design Contest Announced

Long, flowing shapes accented with razor-sharp edges, inlets and exits that tap into cooling airflow with minimal drag, and wheels sized to leave little room for anything else – these are the design keys for Dodge three decades from now.

Three talented high school students from Georgia, Delaware and Michigan have earned top honors in the 2017 Drive for Design contest, sponsored by the FCA US Product Design Office. The contest, in its fifth year, challenged U.S. high school students in grades 10-12 to design a Dodge vehicle 30 years in the future. The FCA design team partnered with EyesOn Design and Lawrence Technological University for this year’s contest.

“The Drive for Design contest helps connect our design team to the extraordinary artistic talent of students across the country and allows us to help guide them for a potential career in automotive design,” said Mark Trostle, Head of Performance, Passenger Car and Utility Vehicle Design, FCA – North America. “All of the submissions were creative and visionary as they truly thought about what vehicles could look like in the next 30 years.”

The three student winners include:

• First place – Davis Kunselman, Mount de Sales Academy (Macon, Georgia)
• Second place – Richard Chen, Delmar High School (Delmar, Delaware)
• Third place – Paige Webb, Stoney Creek High School (Rochester, Michigan)

Prizes included:

• Two-week summer automotive design course at Lawrence Technological University (includes housing, meals and field trips)
• Passes to the EyesOn Design Vision Honored Black Tie and Silent Auction and Automotive Design Exhibition in Grosse Pointe Shores, Michigan
• Three-day/two-night stay in Michigan (includes flight, hotel and rental car)
• An Apple MacBook Pro