Ladies and gentlemen, we introduce your LA Auto Show Design Challenge champion: The Smart 341 Parkour.
This year's theme had designers penning Hollywood's next great movie car, and it's clear that auto manufacturers have a pretty low opinion of what studios are churning out. From amidst the intelligent horses, eastern European countesses and all-wheel drive cars that can travel to the dark side of a ruined earth, the judges chose an all-terrain car best suited for hunting down android grandmothers.
Last year, Smart's entry in the design challenge was a minicar made of carbon fiber knit by "lovable robot grannies." While we found it supremely creepy, the judges loved it and it shared top honors with a high-tech Cadillac.
Sticking with what works, Smart wove the knitting automatons into the narrative of a fictional film called Annie Get The Grannies. In the plot, a young journalist named Annie Angle sees a headline that Smart's team of robotic grandmothers has been stolen. Thinking that she could make a name for herself as an investigative reporter or private detective, she sets out to recover the pilfered robots. But she can't do it alone.
Enter the Smart 341 Parkour, which can not only speed down city streets but also climb walls and hover over obstacles. Apparently, the combination of an outrageous story and impossible technology was just what the judges were looking for.
"The Smart 341 Parkour captured the essence of the Design Challenge by combining innovation and functionality with an adventurous plot," said Chuck Pelly from Design LA.
Photo: LA Design Challenge
