Winners of 2002International Design Contest Announced At California International Auto Show; The Challenge: Design a Racecar for 2020

    ANAHEIM, Calif.--Oct. 17, 2002--The winners of the 2002 California International Auto Show/Motor Trend International Design Contest were announced yesterday at the California International Auto Show. Top honors were awarded to Gabriel Nemeth, a 23-year-old, third year industrial design student from Budapest, Hungary. Nemeth was awarded "Best of Show" and a check for $2,500 from the California International Auto Show for his design of a year 2020 Audi McLaren F1. Nemeth is a two-time winner, having cinched the "Best of Show" award in the contest last year.
    "It is amazing that after changing the theme, judges and entrants, Gabriel rose to the top two years in a row," said Matt Stone, Motor Trend executive editor and chief contest judge. "He has amazing design and illustration skills and a knack for interestingly interpreting the theme."
    The 2002 Design Contest theme challenged entrants to design a racecar for the year 2020. The designer was asked to choose the make and model of the car and racing series that it will compete in, with the conditions that the car must have four wheels and be suitable to compete on a racetrack or other road surface.
    Other top winners included Pavle Trpinac, an industrial design student from Yugoslavia for his design student category entry, a Bugatti 232. Trpinac is also a two-time winner, having won first place for his design entry in 2001. The first place design professional award was presented to Boris Rubanovich, an industrial designer from Las Vegas for his entry of a 2020 Ferrari F1. Both Trpinac and Rubanovich were presented with $1,000 checks from the California International Auto Show.
    Amateur (17 years and younger) winners included 1st Place: Miguel Iranzo Sanchez from Valencia, Spain and amateur (18 years of age and older) 1st Place: Marcos de Souza Falcao, Jr. from Deerfield Beach, Fla.
    Over 2,500 contest registrations were received for this year's competition. Entries were submitted for review by the contest jury, which consisted of automotive designers from General Motors, Ford, Nissan, BMW Designworks, independent firms, educators from the Academy of Art College and Motor Trend editors.
    The public is invited to view the winning entries online at www.mtdesigncontest.com. The 2002 CIAS/Motor Trend International Design Contest is administered in conjunction with the 2003-Model California International Auto Show and managed by Liberty Productions, Inc. Liberty Productions is the nation's leading new-model auto show producer, a division of the Motor Trend Group and a subsidiary of PRIMEDIA, the nation's number one special-interest consumer magazine publisher in the United States.