The
BMW i3 romped home with two prestigious global awards when it was declared the
2014 World Car Design of the Year as well as 2014 World Green Car
“On
behalf of the BMW design team, we are delighted that the BMW i3 has received
the World Car Design of the Year award,” said Dr. Ian Robertson, Member of the
Board of Management of BMW AG, Sales and Marketing BMW. “Our designers created
a car that, through its design and use of sustainable materials, is an
expression of the future”.
“To
have the BMW i3 named World Green Car of the Year is a great honour,” said Dr
Robertson added, adding that “From the production process onwards, the BMW i3
is a truly sustainable vehicle, created with the needs of the 21st century city
in mind.”
The
World Car Design of the Year category, and the corresponding award, is meant to
highlight new vehicles with innovation and style that push established
boundaries.
According
to a WCOTY media release, 28 candidates were eligible for the honour of being
the 2014 World Car Design of the Year.
Candidates may be on the overall World Car of the Year list OR may be
included as a stand-alone entry provided the vehicle is available in quantities
of at least 10 in one major market during the period beginning January 1, 2013
and ending May 31, 2014. Candidates may
be pre-production or all-new production.
A
design panel consisting of five highly respected world design experts was asked
to first review each candidate, and then establish a short-list of
recommendations for the jurors. The
design experts were:
Masatsugu
Arimoto (Japan – Freelance design journalist)
Silvia
Baruffaldi (Italy – Auto & Design magazine)
Gernot
Bracht (Germany – Pforzheim Design School)
Sam
Livingstone (U.K. - Car Design Research
and Royal College of Art)
Tom
Matano (USA - School of Industrial Design at Academy of Art University in San
Francisco)
The
experts commented that: Unlike other BMW
cars, the i3 has a boxy shape, which suggests roominess and efficiency. But it
still retains BMW’s typical dynamism thanks to the larger diameter wheels and
the very short overhangs both on front and rear. Besides that, the i3 expresses
the sub-brand’s own character with using unique design features, including the
black bonnet and the side window graphics that goes through the rear pillar.
The interior is more surprising and attractive. It marks radical leap of car
interior design, and it spreads as calm yet rich feeling as a modern living
room.”
The
sixty-nine World Car Awards jurors then voted on the expert’s recommendations
in February and their ballots were tabulated by the international accounting
firm KPMG.
A
short-list of three finalists was then announced earlier this month at the
Geneva International Motor Show: the BMW i3, the Mazda3 and the Mercedes-Benz
C-Class.
Previous
winners of the World Car Design of the Year award were the Jaguar F-Type in
2013, the Range Rover Evoque in 2012, the Aston Martin Rapide in 2011, the
Chevrolet Camaro in 2010, the Fiat 500 in 2009, the Audi R8 in 2008, the Audi TT
in 2007 and the Citroen C4 in 2006.
As
for the green award, the BMW i3 was chosen from an initial entry list of
fourteen new vehicles from all over the world, then a short list of three
finalists that included the winner as well as the Audi A3 Sportback g-tron and
the Volkswagen XL1.
The
World Green Car award is presented by Bridgestone Corporation (Japan). Mike Martini, President, Original Equipment,
U.S. & Canada Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations said, ““Bridgestone has
a longstanding global commitment to environmental sustainability, and it is our
privilege to again sponsor the World Green Car award. It is only by working
together as One Team, One Planet that we will achieve true sustainability in
the auto industry.”
The
BMW Group also won the 2008 World Green Car award for the BMW 118d with
Efficient Dynamics.
To
be eligible for the 2014 World Green Car award, a vehicle had to be all-new, or
substantially revised, in production and introduced for sale or lease to the
public in quantities of at least 10 in at least one major market during the
period beginning January 1, 2013 and ending May 31, 2014. Tailpipe emissions, fuel consumption, and use
of a major advanced power plant technology (beyond engine componentry), aimed
specifically at increasing the vehicle's environmental responsibility, were all
taken into consideration.
Due
to the complexity of some of the 'green' technologies, five green experts were
appointed by the World Car Awards Steering Committee to extensively review all
documentation and specs associated with each candidate. They were asked to create a finalists’
short-list for review by the sixty-nine World Car Awards’ jurors in their
second round of voting in February. The
jurors’ ballots were then tabulated by the international accounting firm KPMG.
The
experts commented that, “Radical in looks, construction, and powertrain, the
BMW i3 is one of very few clean-sheet-of-paper cars designed from the ground up
for efficiency, with the different needs of the new century's megacities in
mind. From its last-kilometre navigation system to take drivers from car to
destination, to the shipped-around-the-world carbon-fibre-reinforced plastic
body shell without a B-pillar, the BMW i3 pushes boundaries on many fronts”.
Previous
World Green Car winners were the Tesla Model S in 2013, the Mercedes-Benz S 250
CDI BlueEFFICIENCY in 2012, the Chevrolet Volt in 2011, the Volkswagen
BlueMotion in 2010, the Honda FCX Clarity in 2009, the BMW 118d with Efficient
Dynamics in 2008, the Mercedes-Benz E320 Bluetec in 2007 and the Honda Civic
Hybrid in 2006
Source: WCOTY