For most of us, designing a livery means quickly whipping something up on Gran Turismo Sport, with the end result usually looking horrible (for us, at least), and the only time it’ll be seen by others is when we join and eventually crash in an online lobby. The story is a little different for 27-year-old Malaysian Chan Wen Bin though, as his design made him the grand prize winner in a BMW contest, and will see it being used as the livery on an actual race car!
The design submitted by the graphic designer from Semenyih managed to not only win over the jury – comprised of BMW Art Car designer Cao Fei, BMW Designworks Global Automotive Director Michael Scully, as well as BMW works driver Bruno Spengler – but also the fans through BMW’s social media channels.
As a reward for his winning entry, Chan will be bringing home a grand prize of USD3,000 (~RM12.5K) cash, and his design will be used on the actual BMW M4 GT4 race car during the DTM Trophy season finale on the 7th-8th November. Additionally, the livery will also be made available on the iRacing sim racing platform soon, where fans can download and use the design when they race virtually.
“I’ve been a fan of BMW since my childhood and always dreamed of achieving something with BMW one day,” said Wen Bin. “This livery contest was a fantastic opportunity for me to show my passion for BMW and have my design used by BMW Motorsport.
“I’m over the moon and am delighted to have won this competition. I can’t wait to see the result in the real world,” Chan added. “It’s one of my biggest successes in my career as a designer. Thank you so much BMW.”
As part of the contest, the design had to showcase the contest motto: “the fusion of real world and sim racing”, in addition to just pure aesthetics. According to BMW, this means “creating a design whose elegance and beauty comes into full effect not only in the virtual world but also in the real world”.
Commenting on Wen Bin’s design, Cao Fei said: “The black overall colour is always classic and elegant for a high-performance BMW coupe. The subtle blue and red parts scattered around the car is not only lively and chic, accentuating its sporty and exclusive aesthetics, but the colour combination also reflects the very essence of BMW M series, paying tribute to its history and legacy. This livery is truly timeless.”
2nd Place: Juan Diego Sánchez (ESP) 3rd Place: Monholo Oumar (FRA)
With his design, Wen Bin prevailed over numerous competitors, including second place Spaniard Juan Diego Sánchez and third place Monholo Oumar from France, who will each take home USD2,000 and USD1,000 respectively for their efforts.
Congratulations Wen Bin for a job well done! We can’t imagine how it must feel to see your own design being brought to life and immortalised on an actual race car. We’ll definitely be cheering with pride when we see your design on the DTM Trophy BMW M4 GT4 race car!
