The Dacia Manifesto has won the Concept Car Design of the Year award, as voted for by a global panel of esteemed professional car designers and revealed in the new edition of the Car Design Review, published by Car Design News.
This year’s 16-strong judging group includes the heads of design at Audi, Ford, Lamborghini, Lucid and Mercedes, among many others. No judge is allowed to vote for their own designs, nor even for cars from other brands in their group, so the voting process is clean and the awards credible. James McLachlan, editor of Car Design News, said of Dacia’s win: “In the ten years of these awards, Dacia has never previously been a contender for any car category, so to win this year’s Concept Car Design of the Year award is an incredible achievement and shows just how far its design department has come.”
Dacia’s design director, David Durand, who picked up the award for the Manifesto concept at the Car Design News People Awards event in London on Thursday December 7, commented: “I am very honored by the number of people who have appreciated the freshness of this small object, which expresses the values of our brand and shows that Dacia design is evolving. I don’t think anyone expected this from Dacia. This recognition from design professionals tells me that we’re on the right track.”
Beyond Dacia’s winning design, the 208-page Car Design Review X yearbook also includes a run-down of the nine other shortlisted concept cars, the Production Car Design of the Year award winner and its runners-up, the Lifetime Achievement Award feature, plus in-depth articles on how artificial intelligence, user experience and academic training might affect the car designers of the future. Also shining a light on emerging global student talent, the enduring art of clay modelling and featuring brilliant bespoke photography, artwork, tactile material inserts and fold-out illustration sections, this celebratory edition aims to inform and delight in equal measure, while staying firmly editorially independent. Car Design Review X is published and available to buy now here.
Top Ten Concept Car Designs of the Year:
1. Dacia Manifesto
2. Citroen Oli
3. Mercedes Vision One-Eleven
4. Audi Activesphere
5. Lancia Pu+Ra HPE
6. Porsche Mission X
7. Peugeot Inception
8. Dodge Charger Daytona SRT
9. BMW iVision Dee
10. Lincoln Model L100
Why so stingy w photos???
@KC – Thank you for the feedback! Unfortunately the press release didn’t include images of the other top designs.
Do you consider this to be a classic car? I don’t. I don’t understand why you publish articles about things like this on a classic car website.
@Mark – Thank you for your feedback! The Journal is an online automotive magazine dedicated to everything related to cars and car culture for automotive enthusiasts. We are powered by ClassicCars.com, however have never claimed to be specifically classic car related. ClassicCars.com itself also offers a variety of vehicles for sale, beyond the typical “classic car.”
Looks like it”s gonna be one high priced dune buggy.