Tata’s Racemo has won the prestigious German Design Award (GDA) in the Gold category for International Excellence in ‘Exceptional Product Design’. The two-seater sports coupe concept made its international debut at the 87th Geneva motor show and was designed at the Tata Motors Design Studio in Turin, Italy by incorporating many design elements from the brand’s Impact design language.
The Racemo, the first product under Tata’s Tamo sub-brand, is underpinned by the Moflex platform, which helps the manufacturer achieve greater freedom in surface design, efficient large-scale parts integration leading to modularity and faster times to market.
According to Tata, the model is also India’s first globally developed ‘phygital’ car, merging the physical and digital worlds and is also India’s first connected car. The Racemo features technology powered by Microsoft including cloud computing, analytics, geo-spatial and mapping, and increased human-machine interface, meant to create a new benchmark in the industry for connected vehicles.
Commenting on the award, Tata Motors CEO and MD, Guenter Butschek, has said, “Winning the prestigious German Design Council's Gold Award for Automotive Design is a proud moment for us and is testament to the skill and passion of the global Tata Motors Design team. A perfect blend of Italian sensuality and Indian ingenuity, the Racemo is the first innovation from our sub-brand TAMO. The Racemo connects with the aspiring customers of India, making it a perfect extension of our customer’s personality. We hope to continue on this path towards innovation and disruption in product design and technology.”
The head of design at Tata Motors, said, “The Racemo winning the award for International Design Excellence, within a few months from its first global showcase, marks a very important milestone for Tata Motors’ Design Team. The Racemo was the result of intense collaboration between the design and engineering team at Tata Motors. What started off as a design study today stands strong as a production ready two-seater sports coupé, specially designed for the global Indian audience. All of us at Tata Motors are very proud and excited about bringing the car to India.”
In August 2017, Tata Motors plans for the Tamo sub-brand and the Racemo sports coupe were put on hold in a bid to cut costs and concentrate on revitalising their CV business. The future Tamo line-up included a small city car and an electric crossover that would also be built on the Moflex platform that the Racemo is based on.
What is the German Design Award?
The German Design Award (GDA) was launched in 2012 and is one of the most well-respected design competitions in the world, held in high regard even beyond professional circles. Following a unique nomination process, the GDA invites only those products that set themselves apart from their rivals due to the quality of the design. The awards are determined during a two-day jury session, which consists of design experts from various areas. The GDA directly contributes to the overall commercial success. Awards are only conferred to products that represent pioneering contributions to the German and international design landscape.
Since the first edition in 2012, the German Design Award has grown rapidly. In 2012, approximately 1,500 entries were presented to the jury. This year there were more than 5,000 entries, 49 percent of them in the area of Excellent Product Design and 51 percent in the area of Excellent Communications Design.
Also see: In conversation with Guenter Butschek, CEO and MD, Tata Motors