Tokyo, December 4, 2012 – Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. (FHI), the maker of Subaru automobiles, today announced that Subaru has won the 2012 Los Angeles Auto Show Design Challenge competition after the presentation of its SHARC (Subaru Highway Automated Response Concept) vehicle. As a futuristic model for 24-hour highway monitoring, the SHARC provides protection and rapid emergency response solutions for Hawaii’s highway patrol.
The Design Challenge takes place annually on the final Press Day of the LA Auto Show. For each of the past nine years, a new Design Challenge theme is chosen and the major automotive design studios showcase their talents, competing against one another to further explore new ideas in automotive design.
Six automotive design studios from around the world were nominated as finalists to compete in this year’s Design Challenge theme, “Highway Patrol Vehicle 2025″ with their designs of “the ultimate 2025 law enforcement patrol vehicle that supports the needs of dynamic urban environments”. Subaru presented the SHARC vehicle to patrol a hypothetical inter-island “Paradise Highway” in 2025 Hawaii. Subaru developed the cutting-edge SHARC as an affordable and environmentally conscious highway patrol vehicle that meets Hawaii’s strict UltraGreen carbon-neutral environmental regulations. With visible trends in reduced highway patrol budgets worldwide, SHARC vehicles are powered by renewable energy and operate autonomously, eliminating the need for a large full-time highway patrol staff.
Entries were judged by multi-discipline design professionals who selected the winner based upon various factors including: consideration of future needs for advanced technology; speed and agility on future freeway systems; creativity of the solution; meeting the specific region’s mandated emission standards; and environmental sensitivity for maintenance and recyclability. The SHARC design won this highly anticipated competition for “capturing the vision of Design Challenge theme by combining functionality and problem-solving technology around a dynamic and plausible story” and the global joint efforts of the Subaru Global Design team led by FHI’s Design Dept. in collaboration with Subaru’s design studios of the U.S. and Europe were also highly recognized by the judges.
Through its brand statement “Confidence in Motion”, FHI is committed to offering its customers Subaru’s distinctive “Enjoyment and Peace of Mind” driving experience. Subaru will continue to enhance its engineering and designing excellence to create vehicles that embody Subaru’s commitment to enjoyable, heartsease driving for all drivers and passengers.
