Two of the runners-up, George Goodfellow (11 to 18 years category) and Robert Hunt (Over 18 years), received an honourable mention.
The visit to Warwick was hosted by the Executive team of Volvo Trucks, headed by Managing Director Arne Knaben, who reported that, together with his colleagues, he was ‘very impressed’ with the overall quality of not only the winners, but also the 100 plus entries received, and the creative thinking that had gone into their design submissions.
A viewing of the entries to the competition, with the Volvo Trucks Executive team, was followed by lunch and a guided tour of the Training Workshops. The highlight of the day for many of the visitors was the opportunity to go for a ride in the cab of a fully-loaded, Volvo FH16-750 artic.
In addition to the visit to Warwick, the three category winners, together with the two runners-up, George Goodfellow and Robert Hunt, have been invited to Gothenburg to meet the Volvo Trucks Design Team. The visit to Sweden is planned for 8th and 9th April 2015.
Speaking during the Warwick visit, winners Barry Llewellyn (11 to 18 years) and Rhys Guy Llewellyn (Over 18 years), reported that they were very pleased that their design work had been recognised. In common with their fellow entrants, they said they had been inspired to enter the competition as a result of their passion for design, technology and vehicles.
Rhys Guy Llewellyn and Robert Hunt are both third year students studying Automotive Design at Coventry University.
Most of the entrants produced their designs during the 2014 summer holidays. Many reported that they had spent several weeks producing preliminary sketches and notes about their favoured design concepts.
A number of designs featured ‘autonomous’, ‘driver-less’ trucks. Alternative fuels and kinetic energy recycling also found favour. Most opted to design long-haul trucks, but Robert Hunt (runner-up, over 18 years category), produced designs for a distribution truck he dubbed FE-2050, after the Volvo FE range of rigid vehicles.
