13 Dec 2007

Car Design News Contest 2008 is World’s First International Digital Car Design Competition

LONDON – Dec. 13, 2007 – Car Design News today announced the largest all-digital car design contest in the world, in association with SABIC Innovative Plastics and powered by Autodesk. Car Design News Contest 2008 will be judged by senior auto design directors from major automotive manufacturers, including Martin Smith, executive vice president of design at Ford Europe, Asia Pacific and Africa, and Shiro Nakamura, senior vice president and head of design at Nissan. This contest is unique as all designs will be created as virtual computer models. There are two contest categories – professional designer and student designer – with top prizes that include cash and a software license for Alias DesignStudio software.

“This is a contest created by car designers for car designers, and we expect the most skillful and creative professionals and students from around the planet to participate,” said Sam Livingstone, director, Car Design News. “The final digital gallery of finalists and winners will showcase some of the most exciting designs ever seen.”

The contest will begin on January 16 with the announcement of the design brief, full panel of judges and assessment criteria. The design brief will focus on the lives of three “Millenniumites” (people born in 2000) as they might be in 2028. The entry deadline is March 26; finalists will then be given an additional eight weeks to develop their original proposals.

Greg Adams, vice president for SABIC Innovative Plastics, Automotive, said, “SABIC Innovative Plastics is pleased to be part of this collaboration engaging the most talented automotive designers and student designers to compete. At SABIC Innovative Plastics we believe we enable designers to design differently. This contest is part of our commitment to helping designers spur exciting new breakthroughs for the vehicles of the future.”

“Autodesk is proud to partner with Car Design News, providing best-in-class tools that will help contest participants create digital prototypes of their innovative design submissions,” said Richard Jones, vice president of Alias Design Products at Autodesk. “Encouraging designers to feel comfortable with a digital workflow – communicating, collaborating, and visualizing their designs in a digital environment – is not only crucial to success in this contest but also critical for designers facing real-world challenges in the competitive automotive industry.”

For more information, please visit www.cardesignnews.com/site/contests/judges.

Reader enquiries

SABIC

WTC Tower Ten Strawinskylaan 1475
1077 XX Amsterdam
Netherlands

+31 164 293 148

anne.clement@sabic-ip.com

www.sabic.com

Notes for editors

About Car Design News

Car Design News is the world’s leading automotive design media with news stories on the latest and most interesting new production and concept car designs, in-depth car design reviews, extensive online photo galleries from every major international motor show, coverage of design exhibitions and competitions, resources and jobs listings, a discussion forum, and the world's biggest online collection of car designer portfolios.

Established in 1999, the site has a unique design focus with no road tests or driving impressions, just informed perspectives on car design exclusively written by experienced automotive designers to give a unique designer perspective.

Car Design News receives an average of a million visits and about 3000 visits per day from car designers - more than any other media. It is universally recognised by the global car design community as THE one consistent point of reference read in every car styling studio around the world.

About Autodesk

Autodesk, Inc. is the world leader in 2D and 3D design software for the manufacturing, construction, and media and entertainment markets. Since its introduction of AutoCAD software in 1982, Autodesk has developed the broadest portfolio of state-of-the-art digital prototyping solutions to help customers experience their ideas before they are built. Fortune 1000 companies rely on Autodesk for the tools to visualize, simulate and analyze real-world performance early in the design process to save time and money, enhance quality and foster innovation. For additional information about Autodesk, visit www.autodesk.com/.

About SABIC Innovative Plastics

SABIC Innovative Plastics is a global supplier of plastic resins widely used in automotive, healthcare, consumer electronics, transportation, performance packaging, building and construction, telecommunications and optical media applications. The company manufactures and compounds polycarbonate, ABS, ASA, PPE, PC/ABS, PBT and PEI resins, as well as the LNP* line of high-performance specialty compounds, under such well known brand names as Lexan*, Cycolac*, Geloy*, Noryl*, Cycoloy*, Valox* and Ultem*.

The Specialty Film and Sheet division of SABIC Innovative Plastics manufactures high-performance Lexan sheet and film products used in thousands of demanding applications worldwide. The dedicated automotive organization is an experienced, worldwide supplier, offering leading plastics solutions for five key automotive segments: body panels and glazing; under the hood applications; component; structures and interiors; and lighting.

SABIC Innovative Plastics is part of Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC), one of the 10 largest petrochemicals manufacturers in the world.

For additional information on SABIC Innovative Plastics please visit the company’s website at www.sabic-ip.com.

* Trademarks of SABIC Innovative Plastics IP BV.

Autodesk and AliasStudio are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., in the USA and/or other countries. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders. Autodesk reserves the right to alter product offerings and specifications at any time without notice, and is not responsible for typographical or graphical errors that may appear in this document

Media Note: The proper name of the company is SABIC Innovative Plastics, and excludes any abbreviations or variations when referring to the company. As an acronym, SABIC should be all caps whenever it appears in print.