Project 818 Design Contest Winners

[Dave Smith]

Award Winners for Factory Five-Grassroots Motorsports Contest

We are proud to announce the winners of the Factory Five Racing-Grassroots Motorsports 818 Design Competition. We would like to thank all of the entries and the judges were extremely impressed with the quality of all the submissions. We would also like to thank our partners at Grassroots Motorsports for generously sponsoring this competition.

We will be sending these awards to the recipients and we will be providing more details on our plans for the 818, specifically which designs in part or whole will become the next 818.

Thanks to everyone and congratulations to the winners.

[Dave Smith]

Design Award Winners by Category:

1st Place Overall and $5,000 winner - Nouphone Bansasi





2nd Place Overall and $1,000 winner - Rodney Olmos



3rd Place Overall and $500 winner - Xabier Albizu



Special Awards:

Grassroots Motorsports Editor's Choice - Anthony Samboer

[Dave Smith]

Most Original/Creative - Marc Senger



Hewlett-Packard Technology Award for Best Integration of Computer Technology - Davy Phomsavanh



SolidWorks Award for Best Integration of Computer Design -
Romain Farrands



Judge's Awards:

Jeremy Luchini's Judge's Pick - Mario Morra

[Dave Smith]

Tim Suddard's Judge's Pick - Masayuki Kobayashi



Tom Salamone's Judge's Pick - Dominic Agoro



Murray Pfaff's Judge's Pick - Romain Ferrands



Michael Lye's Judge's Pick - Marc Senger

[Dave Smith]

Wayne Cherry's Judge's Pick - Romain Ferrands



Matt Humphries' Judge's Pick - Colin Bonathan



Jim Schenck's Judge's Pick - Jeff Teague



Jesper Ingerslev's Judge's Pick - Colin Bonathan

[riptide motorsport]

very cool.........still wonder what the final rendition will be for the real world............Steven

[keys2heaven]

I still like Xabier's the best out of the top 3. They're all good, but his (and Rodney's) speak to me.

[Niburu]

I find it interesting the top three design would easily incorporate a targa top

[ehansen007]

I still like Xabier's the best out of the top 3. They're all good, but his (and Rodney's) speak to me.

+1. 26" wheels and a Jaguar/Fisker front end don't really do it for me. The good news is I'll be saving 15K! But congrats to all winners including 1st place. They are all awesome designs.

[Doc_FFR]

It will probably turn out to be a beautiful car, but the drawing is too abstract for me to form an opinion now. If Rodney or Xabier had won I'd be onboard in a heartbeat.

[Fifty-Two]

I think the overall winner (Nouphone's design) is phenomenal actually. It has great lines and seems to combine the feel of an upscale euro sports car with the angular aggression of a japanese supercar. Very very cool! I see hints of the Austin V8-Vantage, Honda S2000, Lexus LFA, & even the Pininfarina designed Maserati Granturismo. And, they all mesh very well together in a tight package. Again, job well done!!!

- John

[keys2heaven]

Guys, from the contest rules (#6)

Participants in the contest agree that any and all submissions may be used wholly or in part by Factory Five Racing, Inc., at its sole discretion. These submissions may also be used without limitation by Factory Five Racing, Inc., Grassroots Motorsports magazine, and designated associates, partners and affiliates for promotional purposes.

So, I read this to mean that the winning design does not necessarily mean that this is the final design. I think there has been overwhelming support in the forums (and the poll) for Xabier's design. I'm sure that FF will render a beautiful design (or designs) for the final product.

[Steve91T]

Exactly, the final design is probably going to be based off the winner's design. The end product will probably be very different.

[kach22i]

It's a handsome concept.

I know this will come up, and there is much work to do, so I'll offer this trace-over for others to comment. I centered the wheels on the hubs, kept the same wheelbase.

http://s184.photobucket.com/albums/x...2i/Automobile/

[Texan_GTM]

GREAT CHOICE!!! I love it!

[JRL]

Ugh.............put real world wheels and tires on the winner and it will look like a weiner. I see a few of the top designs making contributions to the final design but in a word I am underwhelmed.

[PrimeTime]

I really really wish that Jeff Teague design would get some more attention. That is simply a top 10 all time for most gorgeous cars for me. I think it wouldn't take too much to make it a targa top option either. It's simple yet exotic design would appeal to both american and european markets. I'd even consider doing my own fiberglass and body work over the 818 frame in order to create that masterpiece. Seriously gorgeous.

[Gun Bunny]

It will probably turn out to be a beautiful car, but the drawing is too abstract for me to form an opinion now. If Rodney or Xabier had won I'd be onboard in a heartbeat.

+1 The perspective on those shots, which is probably a fraction of the pictures actually submitted by the designer, don't really show me much.

[b]

We will be sending these awards to the recipients and we will be providing more details on our plans for the 818, specifically which designs in part or whole will become the next 818.

Just because someone won, doesn't necessarily mean that's what the end product will look like. It could be that the winner is the design with the most potential, but it needs more refinement before prototyping can begin. Whereas something like Xabier's design is more production ready from the get-go, but isn't quite as groundbreaking a design (still calls to mind what a Miata could and should have been)

Guys, from the contest rules (#6)

So, I read this to mean that the winning design does not necessarily mean that this is the final design. I think there has been overwhelming support in the forums (and the poll) for Xabier's design. I'm sure that FF will render a beautiful design (or designs) for the final product.

+1 FFR has never put out anything that has ever looked bad to me. Even if the roadster isnt my cup of tea, I still agree it is a beautiful car (and yes, I know it's not exactly FFR's design) The GTM, when built well, is a stunningly beautiful and capable car, and it's why I started looking into FFR in the first place.

But that's all just one little (well-armed) bunny's opinion...

[kach22i]

It's going to take some incredible skills to make this design production ready, not that I've ever done that myself. Speaking from what I went through on a clay car design concept I built five years ago which had a shorter wheelbase and giant sized tires.

To illustrate how things can go wrong, from a fun fantasy to a humpbacked warthog (how I feel about my own scheme-1), I'll show you what I mean.

Clay Concept:
http://s184.photobucket.com/albums/x...rial%20Design/


Converted to template dimensions (smaller tires so and so forth):


Comparative profiles - to show similar challenges ahead:


I am not promoting my design. I am pointing out that to make this car fit the template and be production ready, it's going to take more talent than I had when converting mine. When you size down those tires, and lower the top of the door line, it might get frustrating quickly.

I wish FFR luck, they have their work cut out for them.

[mjpeters]

Congrats to all the winners. I sure wouldn't have wanted to make the choice with all of the great entries. I look at them all and my favorite changes every time. It will be interesting to see the final design FFR comes up with.


Matt

[Colvindesign]

Congrats to the winners. I think there are some great designs here. However there are some that seem to have been chosen based on the 3D rendering instead of the actual design. Many sketches that were shared before the deadline in the forums were picked apart for their unrealistic proportions and wheel sizes. However that is what still won.

[Hiryu]

Like a few others, I was hoping for a less abstract idea of what the final product might be (since we probably won't get another idea for a few months). It looks like the exaggerated sketches won out. . I wish they accepted videos along with bitmaps.

Does anybody have more information on the design that won the best integration of computer technology? I see something about ABS, but that's it-

Again, congrats to all, and thanks to the powers that be for the great and entertaining contest.

Mike

[riptide motorsport]

It will have to be real world attractive, the winner is too futuristic./conceptual, exstcy's and teagues' and morras' are real world attractive and realistic, I wouldn't drive the winner, looks like it came from a Sly Stallone futuristic movie..........hence not doable for me. Teague's actually looks like a evolution of a Lambo,, the other 2 are just plain attractive.....Steven

[Reload]

Abstract sketches win ID contests all the time, and that really bothers me because...... Each sketch is exaggerated to promote itself!! And these sketches lack detail allowing your imagination to see what you want to see! With a real 3D model, you get reality. This winning entry has three sketches that while similar looking are actually three different car designs. The left middle image has the wheels at a 10+ degree angle relative to the ground. No real car will ever be like this. The bottom image has an extremely short front overhang. Whereas, the top right image has a much longer, sleek, less abrupt front nose. Don't get me wrong, all these images are great, but they cannot map to the same shape in real life.

In contrast, 2nd place winner Olmos doesn't have the luxury of cheating his perspectives to make them look really wow. His model is the real deal, a real physical representation of space. He can maybe play with camera focus and distance. But every image of the car is a real perspective of the actual car. For that reason, I admire his design far more than the 1st place winner.

I think the overall winner (Nouphone's design) is phenomenal actually. It has great lines and seems to combine the feel of an upscale euro sports car with the angular aggression of a japanese supercar. Very very cool! I see hints of the Austin V8-Vantage, Honda S2000, Lexus LFA, & even the Pininfarina designed Maserati Granturismo. And, they all mesh very well together in a tight package. Again, job well done!!!

- John

[05xtsy]

Congrats to the winners. I would have loved to be a part of that group, but it is what it is. Btw the winner also had 3D renders, I wonder why they didn't show them. His name was cr8tr I believe.

[speedboy]

Better renders of the winner

http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showt...818-Submission

[PrimeTime]

anyone else think the xabier design looks like a catfish?

[keys2heaven]

Crap, that was Cr8tr's design!

[wjfawb0]

To me 1st place isn't in the same league as 2nd and 3rd. 2nd and 3rd look like real cars I would build.

[Reload]

Glad to see the judges based on 3D renders after all!! Congrats Cr8tr!

Your design to me is kind of like if a Lotus and a Lexus SC430 had a baby. I was a bit put off by your teasers and your "One Hot Ride" claim, but apparently the judges agreed so I guess you knew what you were doing. Your design isn't my cup of tea, a bit too feminine, and has a fishy look to me. But since you won 1st and Xabier's won 3rd, that must be the new trending style. Congrats again!

[Doc_FFR]

Better renders of the winner

http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showt...818-Submission

So I checked out the other pics and I'm still not convinced. I'll probably lurk the forums until the prototype is finished.

[Vman7]

This is why I really didn't want to get involved in this contest, I kind of knew from day 1, that if didn't do your design in 3D modeling of some sort you didn't have a change in hell of winning. Must be nice to be able to afford expensive software.

I wouldn't be surprised if some of these winners are pros.

[keys2heaven]

And I'd be surprised if some were not. Why does it matter? The contest was open to everyone.

[Vman7]

And I'd be surprised if some were not. Why does it matter? The contest was open to everyone.

If you don't like my opinion, that's your problem, not mine, it's just an opinion.

Just because somebody is a pro, doesn't mean there design is any good.

[VTX]

This is why I really didn't want to get involved in this contest, I kind of knew from day 1, that if didn't do your design in 3D modeling of some sort you didn't have a change in hell of winning. Must be nice to be able to afford expensive software.

I wouldn't be surprised if some of these winners are pros.

Huh? The 1st place winner isn't a 3D render.

That being said, IMHO the 3D renders SHOULD be the winning designs. I'm going to have to echo what some other people said that 2D drawings just give a very false and unrealistic sense of what an actual car will look like. It's too easy to cheat different views to make different angles look good. Not to mention the fact that almost all the 2D drawings, for some reason, tend to make the wheels look HUGE with gaudy looking wheels. I'm not sure why that is, but I hate that look.

I'm not saying the 1st place design is a bad one, but I am reserving judgement until we see an actual 3D render of what the final car will look like because I think at this point that 2D drawing is just too unrealistic to know.

Personally, I still think Mario Morra's design is the best one by far.

I also think the one that won the HP Technology award is really nice looking and I would really like to see some other views.

[riptide motorsport]

Interesting...I don't like cr8tr's rendering here ( at the top) but in the link that was posted I was the first to say I liked it and would build it,,,,,interesting how diferent angles/3d modeling changes your perspectives.....Steven

[armstrom]

the full 3d renders are much better than the concept drawings. I think it will look very good once we see the final product in fiberglass. Are there other designs I liked better? sure, but I'm not mad at the choice the judges made. I would probably still be a buyer if I decide a kit car is right for me. Congrats to all the winners!

[Vman7]

Huh? The 1st place winner isn't a 3D render.

That being said, IMHO the 3D renders SHOULD be the winning designs. I'm going to have to echo what some other people said that 2D drawings just give a very false and unrealistic sense of what an actual car will look like. It's too easy to cheat different views to make different angles look good. Not to mention the fact that almost all the 2D drawings, for some reason, tend to make the wheels look HUGE with gaudy looking wheels. I'm not sure why that is, but I hate that look.

I'm not saying the 1st place design is a bad one, but I am reserving judgement until we see an actual 3D render of what the final car will look like because I think at this point that 2D drawing is just too unrealistic to know.

Personally, I still think Mario Morra's design is the best one by far.

I also think the one that won the HP Technology award is really nice looking and I would really like to see some other views.

Just because it's a side, front or rear view doesn't mean it's a 2D drawing. Do understand what a 3D perspective is?

[Bluewinters21]

This is why I really didn't want to get involved in this contest, I kind of knew from day 1, that if didn't do your design in 3D modeling of some sort you didn't have a change in hell of winning. Must be nice to be able to afford expensive software.

I wouldn't be surprised if some of these winners are pros.

I can’t stress this enough… There are good 3D packages that are FREE!!! I have mentioned this before. My submission (even thought I came nowhere near close to winning) was done on an old free 3D software sweet. Here is a shot from Blender. It’s open source and free. And that’s one of MANY. Do a Google search for free 3D packages. Look at Wiki perhaps. But please stop complaining about farness when all you have to do is put forth a little effort and you will be on the same playing field as everyone else!
Blender.jpg

[VTX]

Just because it's a side, front or rear view doesn't mean it's a 2D drawing. Do understand what a 3D perspective is?

The picture at the top sure looks like a drawing to me and not a 3D render. I use Solidworks for a living, so I am well aware of what 3D perspective is.