Pierre-Paul Andriani
Brandy Ryan
Three student design teams reinterpret historic vehicles through iconic art movements, combining Alias surface modeling and VRED visualization to bring their concepts to life.
For two years running, the Automotive Innovation Forum (AIF) Student Design Competition has invited emerging designers to explore new ideas using professional automotive design workflows.
The 2026 brief, “The Original & The Remix,” asked students to reinterpret a discontinued, historic, or forgotten vehicle through the lens of a major art movement.
The challenge encouraged participants to combine design research, surface modeling, and visualization storytelling using Autodesk Alias and Autodesk VRED.
We know how important it is to learn and use this kind of industry software, which is why we released Alias and VRED Learning Editions. If you’re a student or a freelance designer, these versions are intended for your use.
This year’s competition drew 129 students across 34 teams representing 16 countries. After reviewing the submissions, the Autodesk jury selected three finalists whose projects stood out for their design thinking, modeling execution, and visualization work.
Design fundamentals meet digital workflows
A huge variety of designs were submitted, and it was no easy task for the jury to settle on only three finalists. Across the entries, teams demonstrated a strong focus on ideation, sketching, concept modeling, detailing, CMF, and visualization.
The submissions clearly showed how students are embracing digital design tools while remaining grounded in industrial design first (IDF) principles. That balance between creative exploration and disciplined execution was evident throughout the competition.
It’s impressive work from any designer—and even more commendable from students who are balancing their education alongside everything else life demands. Hats off to everyone who participated!
These are the three student teams advancing to the final round.
ZERO-POINT — Coventry University, United Kingdom
The Remix: Abarth 750 Zagato + Space Age
Space Age Art Movement: Inspired by the optimism of the “space race,” this art and design movement from the late 1950s–1970s is characterized by futuristic forms, aerodynamic shapes, bold geometry, and materials that evoke technology and exploration.
Why they impressed the jury:
This team of five delivered what the judges called a “staggering amount of work”. Their Alias NURBS model had a huge amount of detail inside and out. On the visualization side, they wowed the jury with three distinct VRED scenes, including a space environment and an incredibly detailed industrial hangar.
Coffin Crew — Coventry University, United Kingdom
The Remix: Cord 810/812 “Coffin Nose” + Suprematism
Suprematism: An early 20th-century art movement, founded by Kazimir Malevich (Russian avant-garde artist), that focuses on pure geometric forms—such as squares, circles, and lines—and a limited color palette to express abstraction and visual balance.
Why they impressed the jury:
This team proved that “simple” shapes are often the hardest to master. The judges praised their entry for having images with the “best usage of the Alias primaries we’ve ever seen.” Yet they perfectly understood that seemingly flat surfaces still needed slight curvature to look good. Accompanied by brilliant color boards and “trippy” renderings, the execution of the brief garnered very high praise overall.
Surface Squad — SELB University, Germany
The Remix: Fiat Multipla 600 + Pop Art
Pop Art: This mid-20th century art movement draws inspiration from popular culture—advertising, comic books, and consumer products—often using bold colors, graphic shapes, and playful repetition to blur the line between fine art and everyday imagery.
Why they impressed the jury:
A fabulous exercise of digital storytelling and visualization, the jury praised the use of VRED to its full potential: a huge amount of variant switches, including custom paint colors and off-road packages, and the recording of a VRED VR session. They brought their Pop Art persona to life with a great design, a very well executed model inside and out and also great accessories—like rooftop cases, floatables, and speakers.
The Final Round at AIF 2026
With the finalists now selected, the competition moves to its final stage. Coventry University—home of the defending champions—returns with two teams in the running, while a new university joins the final lineup.
The three finalist teams will present their projects at the Automotive Innovation Forum in Darmstadt, Germany (June 2–3, 2026). Their designs will be exhibited during the event, and each team will present their work live on stage to an audience of automotive designers and studio leaders from around the world.
The winning team will be announced during the event. Competitions like this reflect Autodesk’s ongoing commitment to supporting the next generation of designers working with professional automotive design tools and workflows.
Next, the spotlight turns to Darmstadt—where the finalists will take the stage.
More stories from the Student Design Competition journey
If you’d like to explore the Autodesk Student Design Competition and the ideas behind it in more depth, check out these earlier pieces, from the origins of the challenge to insights from the judges and the winning team from last year.
The Power of Brand: Autodesk’s first student Automotive Design competition
An introduction to Autodesk’s first automotive student design competition, where students were challenged to design a concept vehicle inspired by a non-automotive brand using Alias and VRED.
The Power of Brand: We talked with the judges of the Autodesk Student Automotive Design Competition
A behind-the-scenes look at how the competition was structured, what the judges looked for in submissions, and how storytelling, modeling, and visualization shaped the final selections.
Designing the Future: Coventry Students Win Autodesk Automotive Design Competition at AIF25
A closer look at the winning project from the 2025 competition and how the students combined brand storytelling, Alias surfacing, and VRED visualization to bring their concept vehicle to life
Autodesk has been proud to sponsor previous design competitions along with other organizations. Check out our piece on the APMA’s Project Arrow competition, our feature on the Domeble-Symetri Student Awards, and an overview of the student shows that Car Design News keeps an eye on, like the Coventry University’s Automotive and Transportation Design Show and the Royal College of Art’s post-graduate show – to name only a few.
Check out our Autodesk Automotive on LinkedIn and visit the Design Studio YouTube channel for product updates, resources, and more.
Sharpen Your Skills
Alias and VRED Learning Editions are free for non-commercial use. Learn more and start your journey today.