The RX-VISION GT3 CONCEPT Livery (vehicle exterior) design contest was held on the PS4 Gran Turismo SPORT as part of Mazda’s 100th anniversary celebration event and a total of five works were recently selected for the Grand Prize and Outstanding Works awards.

 

The contest, which was held from May 22 to June 19, gathered 555 entries from around the world that were able to clear the rules of the competition. After the deadline, Mazda Design and Polyphony Digital, the creators of Gran Turismo SPORT, used the simulator’s livery function to evaluate every detail of each entry from all angles. Kazunori Yamauchi, senior vice president of Sony Interactive Entertainment, and Ikuo Maeda, Mazda’s managing executive officer in charge of design and branding, were on hand for the final selection of the 20 best entries, which was narrowed down to two grand prize winners and three outstanding entries.

 

■Grand Prix winner

Ikuo Maeda Award: Tanabe Hiroki (17, student)

Evaluation Points: “This is a work that gives a wild and powerful impression, befitting of a racing car, without spoiling the flowing beauty of the base body. The theme of the design is based on kabuki kumadori, a style of kabuki that expresses strength and righteousness, a perfect fit for a Japanese brand. Despite the difficult theme, the design blends in seamlessly with the shape of the RX-VISION GT3 Concept from every angle, conveying a racy image rather than just an extreme sense of harmony. It is a simple but difficult design, and we appreciate the high level of perfection that has been achieved.”

 

Winner’s comment: “I am very happy that my work was chosen by Ikuo Maeda, the father of Mazda’s KODO design and the RX-VISION, to win the Grand Prize. The RX-VISION GT3 CONCEPT was designed based on Mazda’s KODO – Soul of Motion philosophy, and I was very attentive to the subject matter when I first decided to create it. I looked at various objects in my daily life to come up with ideas for something appropriate for a Mazda or Japanese car. As a result, I came up with the idea of “shadow markings”. Personally, I was particularly engrossed in the treatment around the headlight area, and my primary concern was how to make it look lean and powerful. I used a lot of curves throughout the car to enhance the smooth shape of the body, and by limiting the body color to white and soul red, I think I was able to create a well-rounded impression.

 

Kazunori Yamauchi Award: Kohei Asaoka (18, Student)

Evaluation Points: “Usually when in racing, the liveries are designed to hide the flaws in the proportions of that car. If the left and right eyes are too far apart, we’ll add a stripe in the center, and if the body is too thick and heavy, we’ll change the color on the top and bottom to make it look lighter. In that sense, I think of the livery as a kind of “make-up” for the vehicle. However, this RX-VISION GT3 Concept is like a beautiful woman with perfect proportions and an impeccable face, right from the start, so I chose a design that utilized slightly lighter make-up. I knew that if I were going to race, I would want to drive with this livery.”

 

Winner’s comment: “I’m so humbled that my work was chosen from among so many other entries. I am very honored to have won the Grand Prize. This design was based on the concept of ‘Mazda’s coolness’. I focused on Mazda’s KODO design, and the color scheme was designed to give the vehicle a lively body line. I also incorporated design cues from the LM55 and MX-5 cup cars to give the car a distinctly Mazda look. The car has an aggressive design, and I felt that it would look good in its plain form as a race car, so I avoided a complex color scheme and kept it simple in keeping with one of Mazda’s design philosophies of “less is more”. I chose to use white letters for the logo in order to create a unified impression.

 

Outstanding Works Awards

Mr. Gilles MOTOT (37)　“RESPECT RPTARY” Keita Matsuzawa (33, office worker) “THE – “M”” Mamoru Okada (25, office worker) “POLYMETAL-RACER”

 

For more information about the contest, please visit the following page on Mazda’s official Digital Motorsports website. Mazda 100th Anniversary RX-VISION GT3 CONCEPT Recovery Contest

 

Text by MZRacing, Photos by Mazda