Earlier this month we asked Car Design News readers to vote for their favorite car design from 2006 and we've had a great response, with over a thousand responses in a two week period. While other 'Best Design' awards are largely made up of votes from journalists, the difference here is that more automotive designers or students of car design read Car Design News than any other media, so this CDOTY is very much for designers by designers.
Last year you voted for the Aston Martin V8 Vantage as best current production car design so what were the results this year?
Car Design of the Year 2006 - Concept
- 1st Place: A clear win for the Saab Aero X. Over 82% of readers awarded it a top three place. In fact, it received over 50% of all votes for 1st position from within the first few hours of the voting, and that position never changed substantially over the whole two week period.
- 2nd Place: Citroen C-Metisse. Over 58% of readers awarded it a top three place
- 3rd Place: Mazda Nagare. 50% of readers awarded it a top three place
It's interesting to note that all of these winners were flamboyant show cars rather than teasers for any forthcoming production car. It'll also be interesting to see if Mazda can improve on this result next year, as many designers appear to approve of Mazda's recent direction under new design chief, Laurens van den Acker. Considering it was launched at the relatively minor LA Show, and that not many readers have seen it in the flesh, it's an impressive result for the Nagare, as it has quite subtle detailing which is not an easy design to appreciate in photos.
We were also able to show a decisive result for the big debate between the Chevrolet Camaro and the Dodge Challenger concepts shown at Detroit last year, with a clear preference for the Camaro, which received almost twice as many votes as its arch rival - 43% awarded it a top 3 place, as opposed to 21% for the Challenger.
Car Design of the Year 2006 - Production
- 1st Place: Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione. Over 73% of the votes for a top three place
- 2nd Place: Audi R8. 71% of readers awarded it a top three place
- 3rd Place: Ferrari 599GTB. 47% of readers awarded it a top three place
A fascinating neck & neck battle was fought here over the two weeks between the Audi R8 and Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione. Undoubtedly, this was a contest between two opposing approaches to new Super GTs: a contemporary technical design from Bavaria and a more romantic, even retro design, from Milan. During the second week, the Alfa just nosed ahead to take a decisive win. Third place also had a fight between the Ferrari and Volvo's new C30 over the two weeks. Although third place finally went to the 599 GTB, the C30 scored 43% for a top three placing - and 4th place is a great result for a baby Volvo versus a Ferrari...
We also invited forty leading design chiefs to vote for their top three designs to see how their views differed from your own. These were the results:
Design Chiefs' choice - Concept
- 1st Place: Saab Aero X
- 2nd Place: Citroen C-Metisse
- 3rd Place: Mazda Nagare
Design Chiefs' choice - Production
- 1st Place: Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione
- 2nd Place: Skoda Roomster
- 3rd Place: Ferrari 599GTB
So there you have it - for concepts, our readers' view is bang on that of the top designers in the industry, while in the production category it's also pretty close. In this second category, the design chiefs knocked the Audi R8 down to fourth place in favor of the Roomster, with several top names singling the Roomster out for a mention, in recognition of its appealing concept and good value for money - a high achievement for a brand once the butt of many jokes.
It's also intriguing to note that a recent CDN design essay on car design suggested that cars with a level or slanted back stance were associated more with 'beauty'. Our voting here appears to substantiate this view: the Saab Aero X, Alfa 8C Competizione, Citroen C-Metisse and Mazda Nagare all share that poise which suggests flow and relaxation to the viewer.
On another note, there's a surprising consensus amongst the CDN readership, with most of you either generally liking or not liking a design quite clearly and very few polarized designs, where the voting is split between those who love it and those who hate it!
Car Design News will be presenting the awards to the chief of each winning design team at the Geneva Motor Show in March. We'll also be repeating the award for 2007, and, judging by the cars launched at the recent NAIAS, 2007 has kicked off to a great start, with cars such as the Ford Airstream, Jaguar C-XF, Mazda Ryuga, Chevrolet Volt and Chrysler Nassau all being possible contenders for the next contest.
Which will you vote for?
Related Stories:
Design Essay: Beauties, Beasts and Blades 
Design Development: Saab Aero X concept
Design Review: Alfa 8C Competizione
Car Design News Reader Survey: Best current production car design (2006)
