The contest:

The Design Challenge is part of the Design Los Angeles automobile designers’ conference that is held every year during the Los Angeles Auto Show press days, Dec. 2 and 3, 2009. For the last six years a new Design Challenge theme is chosen and the major Southern California Automotive Design Studios battle against each other to showcase their talents and further explore new ideas in automotive design. The Design Los Angeles Conference also gives designers access to design industry leaders and provides the opportunity to address common industry issues.

This year’s theme, Youthmobile 2030, asked automotive design studios to envision what a new generation of drivers – raised with cell phones, online communities and webcams – will demand from their vehicles in the year 2030.

Entries were judged by multi-discipline design professionals who selected the winner based on its originality of creative concept, integration of futuristic design elements and level of adaptation to the needs of the youth consumer in 2030. All of the Youthmobile 2030 entries delivered a great variety of answers to the question posed by this year’s Design Challenge.

Audi

Premise: 2030 – Future of the driving environment

Future generations will be born into a comprehensive digital environment. Enchanted by technology, drivers will be accustomed to the convenience of automation in their vehicles. The next generation of vehicles will provide autonomy far beyond today’s vision. Although autonomous driving will provide safety, efficiency, and convenience, it can also lead to a detached and sterile driving experience. Audi, true to its “Vorsprung durch Technik” philosophy, showcases two vehicles that are truly engaging in addition to the aforementioned advancement.

Remember the excitement of your first time behind the wheel?

Here are two examples of capturing that kind of youthful experience.

Vehicle concepts: The dream, and living the dream

1. Audi eSpira: The Aspiration – An ultimate technological tour-de-force whose image will stir every kid’s imagination. Audi in its most uncompromised form, the eSpira functions as an extension of your body and its senses. Using next generation vehicle control logic, the eSpira takes even the smallest body movements and gestures of the driver into consideration to provide an unsurpassed command of the drive. The most direct, fluid form of vehicle control is only thoughts away.

2. Audi eOra: The Essence – An accessible representation of freedom and coming of age for the young (and young at heart) A “sport” vehicle that shares the same control logic as the eSpira. Extremely dynamic and efficient, the Audi eOra has a small footprint and unmatched agility. Like a downhill skier, the eOra carves the roadscape with precision. By constantly adapting to the driver’s movements and intentions, the eOra and its driver move harmoniously as one with unrivaled dexterity.

These vehicles encompass the core Audi experience: progressive, imaginative and visceral. Authentically youthful driving experiences

Acknowledgment: Los Angeles Auto Show