Rolls-Royce encourages children to let their imagination race

“Start them early” is a phrase that applies to getting youngsters interested in everything from music, the arts and even collector cars. Even very expensive collector cars. And thus, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars announces the winners of its Young Designer Competition.

“Devised to provide a creative outlet for children aged 16 and under, confined by Covid-19 lockdown restrictions, the competition attracted more than 5,000 entries from over 80 countries,” Rolls-Royce said.

“With no rules or specified judging criteria to constrain them, children were able to let their imagination run free, creating designs of extraordinary richness, creativity and diversity.”

“The entries that stood out for us were those that showed a real depth of thought, effort and expression, and incorporated lots of different details,” said Torsten Müller-Ötvös, the automaker’s chief executive.

“The winning entrants didn’t just draw ‘the nicest car,’ they created amazing experiences that showed the freedom of their imagination, not hindered by physical, real-world constraints.”

Winners in the four categories came from Japan, France, China and Hungary and range in age from 6 to 16. Each winner and a best friend will receive a chauffeur-driven ride to school in a Rolls-Royce. The winners and three others recognized for work “highly commended” also have had their entries transformed into digitally rendered illustrations by the Rolls-Royce design staff. 

“The number and diversity of the entries proves once again something we’ve always believed and lived by within Bespoke Design: that Inspiration is Everywhere,” said Gavin Hartley, head of bespoke design at Rolls-Royce.

“As adults, we’re often too quick to stop ourselves pursuing fantastical ideas. At Rolls-Royce, we encourage clients to be bold and creative, unfettered by conventional notions of what they think a car ‘should’ be like. This competition and the ideas generated reminds us of the incredible power of the question: ‘Wouldn’t it be great if…?’”

The four categories for the contest were Technology, Environment, Fantasy and Fun. 

“Entries included designs inspired by (amongst other things) unicorns, turtles, space travel, the Egyptian pyramids, Pablo Picasso and bumble-bees,” Rolls-Royce said. “Many are capable of flying or traveling underwater; the designs also featured a host of clever devices and novel technologies to save labour, provide pleasure and entertainment and benefit humanity and the environment.”

Highly commended awards went to: