Opel Flextreme EREV Wins red dot design award

28 November 2008

GM’s Opel Flextreme extended range electric vehicle concept car (earlier post) has received the prestigious red dot award in a ceremony in Singapore.

The Opel Flextreme was conceived at General Motors’ European Design Center and premiered in 2007 at the International Motor Show (IAA) in Frankfurt. The Opel Flextreme is a plug-in diesel extended range electric vehicle (EREV)—the third variant of GM’s E-Flex electric vehicle architecture—that offers up to 55 km (34 miles) of all-electric range. A 1.3-liter turbodiesel powers an onboard generator to replenish the 16 kWh li-ion battery pack and extend the vehicle’s driving range to a total of 715 km (444 miles).

The international red dot design award—allotted since 1955 under the aegis of the Design Zentrum North Rhine Westphalia, Germany—ranks among the largest and most renowned design prizes in the world. The red dot Singapore prize is awarded to the best design concept “that has the power to improve our world in the future.” It is granted to products by an international panel of design experts who base their criteria on degree of innovation, functionality and formal quality. In 2007, the Saab Aero X concept car won the award.

The high number of quality entries made this competition extremely challenging and, hence, winning the red dot an exceptional achievement. We congratulate Opel and General Motors.

—Ken Koo, President of the red dot design award in Singapore