(December 1, 2012) LOS ANGELES — Subaru Global Design won the 2012 Los Angeles Auto Show Design Challenge competition with its SHARC (Subaru Highway Automated Response Concept) vehicle. As a futuristic model for 24-hour highway monitoring, the SHARC provides protection and rapid emergency response solutions for Hawaii's highway patrol.

This year's Design Challenge theme, Highway Patrol Vehicle 2025, called upon premier automotive design studios to create the ultimate 2025 law enforcement patrol vehicle that supports the needs of dynamic urban environments.

Six automotive design studios from BMW, General Motors, Honda, Mercedes-Benz and Subaru showcased entries featuring cutting-edge vehicle designs with drone technology, land and air capabilities, electric vehicle systems and renewable resource-fueled vehicles equipped with topographical scanners.

"All judges were impressed with the high level of innovation and technology from the finalists this year," said Chuck Pelly from Design LA. "The SHARC captured the vision of the Design Challenge theme by combining functionality and problem-solving technology around a dynamic and plausible story."

With global collaboration among its design studios, the creative minds at Subaru developed the cutting-edge SHARC as an affordable and environmentally conscious highway patrol vehicle that meets Hawaii's strict UltraGreen carbon-neutral environmental regulations. With visible trends in reduced highway patrol budgets worldwide, SHARC vehicles are powered by renewable energy and operate autonomously, eliminating the need for a large full-time highway patrol staff.

Entries were judged by multi-discipline design professionals who selected the winner based upon various factors including: consideration of future needs for advanced technology; speed and agility on future freeway systems; creativity of the solution; meeting the specific region's mandated emission standards; and environmental sensitivity for maintenance and recyclability.

Judges included Tom Matano, executive director, School of Industrial Design at San Francisco's Academy of Art University; Imre Molnar, Provost and chief academic officer at Detroit's College for Creative Studies; Steward Reed, chair of Transportation Design at Pasadena's Art Center College of Design and Bruce Meyer, founder of the Petersen Automotive Museum.

The Design Challenge is a highly anticipated competition where automotive design studios from around the world battle against each other to flex their creativity.  Designers enjoy participating in the challenge because it is a strong venue to showcase their talents and further explore new ideas in automotive design.