Car Design Review’s anniversary edition book celebrating ten years of the title has been released containing the winners of its Car Design of the Year awards. The big awards in the 208-page book were Concept and Production Car Designs of the Year and were chosen by a 16-strong judging panel which included heads of design at Audi, Ford, Lamborghini, Lucid and Mercedes.

The Concept Car Design of the Year award went to the Dacia Manifesto, with judges full of praise for the concept’s freshness, function and innovation.

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 7th December, commented: “I am very honoured 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.”

When the Manifesto was unveiled by Dacia in September, the brand described it as, “cool, robust and built for outdoor activities”. It has no doors, windows or windshield, bringing the people in the car closer to nature. While it looks like a heavy brute of a car, the concept is lightweight and therefore consumes less energy - something Dacia has tried implementing in the Jogger which is 300kg lighter than other 7 seaters on the market.

The public recently got to see the Dacia Manifesto for the first time at October’s Paris Motor Show.

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 i Vision Dee
10. Lincoln Model L100

Possibly the most coveted award, Production Car Design of the Year, went to the Polestar 4 and was a clear favourite of the fellow designer judges. It received the highest number of first place votes (eight) in the history of this category with praise in particular for its uniqueness and attention to detail.

Polestar’s design director, Max Missoni, who picked up the award at the Car Design News People Awards event, commented: “We strive for the less obvious, the more intellectual approach. In 2024 we will deliver Polestar 4 – and Polestar 3 – around the world, and so with two more cars added to our line-up we will see a pivotal year for the brand. It’s such an exciting time for us.”

The all electric SUV is expected to reach the UK market in spring 2024 with prices starting at around £55,000. It will be Polestar’s quickest production car and can achieve a 0-62mph time of 3.8 seconds and an impressive expected range of 350 miles. Those at Polestar expect it to be its biggest selling model in the history of the company.

Top Ten Production Car Designs of the Year: 
1. Polestar 4
2. Kia EV9
3. Volvo EX30
4. Jeep Avenger
5. HiPhi Y
6. Lamborghini Revuelto
7. Ford Explorer
8. Zeekr 009
9. Aion Hyper SSR
10. MG Cyberster

Other Award Winners:

Concept Car Design of the Decade 
2015 Porsche Mission E

Production Car Designs of the Decade (joint winners)
2013 BMW i3
2021 Range Rover Mk5

Words: Mike Booth
Pictures: Car Design News