Toyota Celebrates UK Winners in 2020 Dream Car Art Contest

A pod that takes lonely pensioners for an adventure and nanoscopic ‘bumper cars’ with healing properties were among the fantastic designs for future mobility entered by UK children in the 2020 Dream Car Art Contest.

With more than 400 entries received, the competition once again demonstrated the creative talents of young people and their ideas on how to make the world a better place through mobility. All the finalists impressed the judges with their desire to help others and the environment, and their excellent artistry. The judges were particularly impressed with the many designs tackling recent global events, such as the Australian bushfires, storms and flooding, imagining ways of reducing their impact on people and wildlife.

The ceremony was hosted at Toyota’s UK Head Office in Surrey on 28 February, with gold, silver and bronze prize winners announced in three age categories. Having reached the final stage in the UK competition, all the finalists will now go forward for consideration in the global competition and the chance to win the trip of a lifetime to Japan in 2021.

The winner in the under-eight category was Nahia Aston, whose Climate Change Dream Car can redistribute water from recent floods to help areas affected by wildfires. Animals and humans can also be airlifted to safety via a rainbow.

First place in the eight to 11 category went to Isla Millen with The BeeBus, which travels around the world helping the dwindling bee population to pollinate plants and collect nectar, with honey being distributed for people to enjoy.

The 12 to 15 category was won by Shayna Gail Velasquez, whose Green Micro Sentinels is composed of miniature drones that can come together to transport water to fight wildfires, blanket and contain volcanic ash and form walls to protect against tsunamis whilst taking people and wildlife to safety.

The awards were presented by Paul Van Der Burgh, Toyota GB President and Managing Director, and Chris Hayes, Director of People and Planning. Gold award winners were presented with iPads, and silver and bronze winners were given Samsung tablets; all finalists took home a Toyota goody bag.

Award Winners:

Under eight

Gold: Nahia Aston, 6, Saint Neots

Silver: Virgil Franchetti, 6, Glasgow

Bronze: Stefanie Petryshyn, 4, London

Eight to 11

Gold: Isla Millen, 11, Huntingdon

Silver: Abigail Debenham, 10, Northampton

Bronze: Siri Dawton, 12 (entered aged 11), Tarbet

Twelve to 15

Gold: Shayna Gail Velasquez, 15, Belfast

Silver: Aanchal Kumar, 14, Woking

Bronze: Ayesha Taniya, 13, Newport

ENDS