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The Proton Design Competition 2014 has officially come to an end – the two category winners of the contest were announced at an event that also saw the introduction of the Suprima S Standard. In Category 1 (for secondary students aged 13-17), 17-year-old Muhammed Amiruddin Abu Bakar walked away with the first prize, while in Category 2, for college students/individuals within the ages of 18-25, Pow Ying Hern emerged champion.

Amiruddin, a SPM-level student at SMK Taman Melawati in Kuala Lumpur, took home a MacBook Air and RM3,000 in cash. The first and second runner-ups also won a MacBook Air each and RM2,000 and RM1,500 respectively. Seven consolation prize winners received RM500 each.

Twenty-five-year old Pow, a degree holder in Product Design from Nanyang Technological University in Singapore as well as a master’s certificate holder in car design from Domus Academy in Milan, Italy, won a MacBook Pro and RM5,000 in cash for his winning entry, called e-Luma.

He also won the Chairman’s Award, which bagged him a special trophy and an internship with the Proton Design Studio. The first and second runner-ups in Category 2 won a MacBook Pro and RM3,000 and RM2,000 in cash respectively, and seven consolation prize winners each won RM1,000.

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The contest, which began in June, saw a total of 337 entries from both categories. Category 1, open to entrants aged 13 to 17 years old, contained 158 submissions, while Category 2, open to those aged 18 to 25 years old, received 179 submissions. Group entries were not allowed, and only Malaysians with a valid Malaysian identity card could participate.

Two rounds of shortlisting were held on September 12 and 15, whittling the entries down to 58 in total – 36 for Category 1 and 22 for Category 2. This was eventually brought down to the 10 best entries for each category, with a final round of judging determining the winners.

To recap, budding designers were asked to design a Proton city car for the year 2020. Entrants were required to submit coloured renderings depicting the 3/4 front, side and 3/4 rear views of their design, while those falling into Category 2 were also required to produce an additional coloured interior rendering.

In addition, entrants had to submit a written proposal detailing their car’s design concept, unique selling proposition and proposed powertrain system. Given that this was first and foremost a design competition, submissions were naturally judged on their aesthetics and presentation, but specific emphasis were given to the originality and innovation of the designs.