Hongik University team wins Ferrari design contest

Korean university student Ahn Dre, 25, won Tuesday an once-in-a-lifetime chance to help design the Ferrari of tomorrow.

He said he decided to take the college entrance exam because of his love for Ferrari sports cars. A graduate of an alternative school, he had refused to enter college but changed his mind after reading an article in an automotive magazine on the Ferrari World Design Contest.

Open only to those who graduated from the world’s prestigious design schools, Ahn had to enter college. Because the alternative school did not offer a diploma, he took the qualification exams for junior and senior high school and passed them in 2006.

After preparing for the college entrance exam in 2007, he was accepted to Hongik University as an industrial design major. And in February this year, his thesis adviser recommended that Ahn enter the contest he had dreamed of, saying, "Our school is eligible to enter the Ferrari design contest. Why don’t you give it a try?”

Ahn said his heart started to beat. He wanted to go for it. He teamed up with colleagues Kim Cheong-ju and Lee Sang-seok and shut himself in a workroom for five months. “I only thought about the contest, nothing else,” he said.

This year’s contest required participants to design the next-generation Ferrari by maintaining its innate functions and features, but using advanced technology and materials. Ahn managed the team, Kim took charge of interior design, and Lee worked on 3-D modeling.

“What was difficult was designing a car that had the shortest production time and efficiency when manufactured. We had to do more than focus only on design,” Ahn said.

In the awards ceremony Tuesday at Ferrari headquarters In Italy, Ahn’s team received an Autodesk Design Award for their innovative use of design software. The team beat out 200 other competitors, getting its name was called at the last minute.

Ahn`s team won praise from the judges, who said it was the best interpretation of the Ferrari tradition and overwhelming in all aspects.

Ahn has been offered an internship at Ferrari’s design team from September. “It`s an honor to win the contest that I had long dreamed of. I`ll do my best in this internship to have a chance to be hired by Ferrari’s design team,” he said.

alwaysj@donga.com