Pininfarina announced the winners of its 2024/2025 International Design Contest during a special awards ceremony held at the company’s headquarters in Cambiano, Italy, as part of the Pistons & Pretzels event, a celebration of automotive culture. The ceremony was one of the highlights of the packed calendar of initiatives organised to mark Pininfarina’s 95th anniversary. The international competition, entitled “Materiality, the Umami of Mobility”, invited final year students from the world’s best design schools to imagine the future of living and transport through the use of innovative and emotionally engaging materials.
Chosen from hundreds of entries, eight talented finalists submitted projects embodying the core values of the competition: sustainability, sensory richness, accessibility and design appeal. Their work spanned vehicles, systems and environments, all focusing on the tactile, emotional and transformative power of materials in redefining the mobility experience of the future. The finalists represent some of the most prestigious international design schools, including the National Institute of Design (India), Strate School of Design (France), IAAD (Italy) and Hongik University (South Korea). The ceremony, conducted by Felix Kilbertus, Pininfarina’s Chief Creative Officer and coordinator of the competition, included greetings from the Pininfarina Shanghai team and members of the jury, including Anne Asensio (Vice President, Design Innovation & Experience, Dassault Systèmes), Rossella Guasco (Head of CMF Design for Stellantis brands) and Peter Stevens (renowned automotive designer), who evaluated the projects together with the Pininfarina design team.