Morven’s design involved a combination of photovoltaic paint applied to the body panels of electric and hybrid vehicles, alongside nanobattery storage cells dispersed throughput the vehicle. The mechanical engineering student saw off fellow finalists Edward Chamberlain, who proposed a tactile feedback system for accelerator pedals, and Michael Everymann, whose idea was a self-replenishing windscreen washer system.
“Year on year, the calibre of the entries we receive for this competition raises the bar higher,” said Autocar editor-in-chief and lead judge Steve Cropley.
“Our judging process has been hugely engaging again and it has reaffirmed that you can simply never judge a book by its cover. Often when you see finalists’ submissions for the first time, it’s easy to think you have the measure of the entrant, but when they then breathe life into their ideas, you often find yourself thinking again.”
The award, which aims to help graduates and students kick-start a career in the motoring industry, is supported by manufacturers including JLR, McLaren, Peugeot, Skoda, Toyota and Honda. Last year’s winner Nicole Agba spent time at several of those companies, getting hands-on experience with automotive design, as well as other areas such as marketing and PR.
“This award was set up to find, nurture and encourage bright new talent for the automotive industry and we’re really proud of the way it continues to go from strength to strength,” Cropley continued.
“This year we opened it up to all UK residents aged 17-25 and we’ve received more entries than ever. So many of those entries were of such high quality that it’s been incredibly difficult to choose our finalists, let alone a single winner.”
Applications for the 2016 award will open early next year.
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