Behind the Design: Rolls-Royce competition

An entry by an eight-year-old turned into a Rolls-Royce. Photo: Rolls-Royce

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars has revealed the shortlist of its Young Designer Competition, which has attracted more than 5000 entries from children aged 16 and under in more than 80 countries around the world.

The competition aimed to stimulate design talent, inspire greatness and provide a welcome distraction for children living under Covid-19 self-isolation and social-distancing restrictions. Contestants were asked to design their dream Rolls-Royce of the future, incorporating Bespoke features and capabilities they could conjure from their imagination.

Launched in early April, the competition proved so popular that the original mid-May deadline for submissions was extended by two weeks. When entries finally closed on 2 June, 2020, more than 5000 illustrations had been received from aspiring young designers in over 80 countries.

From these entries, the Rolls-Royce Design team has selected shortlisted entries, which are available to view in a special online viewing room. The overall winner will be announced in mid-July.

Head of Bespoke Design, Gavin Hartley, will be selecting the winners together with members of his team.

“We’ve been absolutely overwhelmed by the international response to our Young Designer Competition,” he said.

A five-year-old’s version of a Rolls-Royce becomes ‘reality’. Photo: Rolls-Royce

“And it’s not just the number of entries that has impressed us - the quality of the children’s designs is staggering, showing incredible imagination, creativity and flair.

“We wanted to give children the chance to let their imagination flow freely – it’s clearly struck a chord. They’ve responded magnificently – and given us an extremely difficult task in selecting our shortlist and winner!”

He added, “Rolls-Royce encourages and enables the pursuit of dreams. As well as giving children a way to express their visions, this competition has really inspired us as a design team. It’s reminded us of the sheer power of the human imagination, and challenges us to bring that sense of scale, possibility and greatness to making our customers’ dreams a reality.”