Kia receives trio of design awards for Stinger, Stonic and Picanto
Kia Stinger wins ‘Red Dot: Best of the Best’ award
Latest triple victory increases Kia’s total to 21 Red Dot wins
Frankfurt, 9 April 2018 – Kia has triumphed again in the Red Dot Awards, securing three prestigious awards for design. The new Stinger fastback sedan, the Stonic compact crossover and the third-generation Picanto city car all won in their respective categories. The international jury of design experts awarded the Stinger the ‘Best of the Best’ title, praising the car for its pioneering design.
The 2018 trio of victories adds to Kia’s continuing success, with the company having now won a remarkable 21 Red Dot Awards since the Kia Soul first took victory in 2009. These latest awards follow Kia’s triple iF Design Award win earlier in 2018.
“Our global design team can be incredibly proud of their latest triple triumph. It highlights Kia’s passion for design quality and ingenuity, which has once again been lauded by a panel of international design experts,” says Peter Schreyer, President and Chief Design Officer of Kia Motors Corporation. “Winning the ‘Red Dot: Best of the Best’ for the fourth time is truly exceptional. With its modern take on the classic gran turismo style, the Kia Stinger is further proof of Kia’s high design standards.”
The Stinger, designed at Kia’s European design centre in Frankfurt, Germany, marries classic gran turismo design with a spacious and cosseting interior. Taking inspiration from the grand tourers of the 1970s, the Stinger features elegant fastback proportions and a muscular ‘coke bottle’ shape down its flanks, highlighting the car’s rear-wheel biased power delivery.
Also designed in Frankfurt, the Stonic, Kia’s debut compact crossover, offers a striking and bold exterior design, combined with an elevated seating position and practical SUV format. It is the most customisable Kia ever made, offering buyers a wide choice of two-tone paint combinations and interior colours.
The third generation of the Kia Picanto – Kia’s smallest car – brings a youthful and energetic character to the A-segment. It boasts a distinctive new design and a high-quality, high-tech cabin, with huge potential for customisation. Despite its compact dimensions, the Picanto’s intelligent design makes it one of the most spacious cars in its class.
The Red Dot Awards: over 6,300 products from 59 countries submitted
Since launched in 1955 by the Design Centre of North Rhine-Westphalia, the Red Dot Awards has become one of the most prestigious design competitions worldwide. The judging panel comprises of 40 expert independent designers, design professors and trade journalists from all over the world.
The Red Dot Awards are presented in the three categories (Product Design, Communication Design and Design Concept), and are judged on criteria such as degree of innovation, formal quality, functionality and ecological compatibility. In 2018 companies from 59 countries registered more than 6,300 products.
The official presentation of the Red Dot Awards will take place on 9 July 2018 in Essen, Germany at the Aalto Theater, an opera house designed by Alvar Aalto.