LONDON -- The Interior Motives Best Overall Automotive Interior Design for 2006 (sponsored by Faurecia) has been won by Iman Maghsoudi of the Azad University, Tehran, Iran.

Now in their fourth year, the Interior Motives Design Awards have become a crucial part of the car design industry's calendar. They are open to students from any recognised graduate or postgraduate course, anywhere in the world.

This year's event saw more than 650 students from leading institutions in 68 countries respond to the call for registrations.

Maghsoudi's dramatic design represents a vision of the future in which the considerations of space and resources will impact on the way people drive.

In order to retain the exhilarating feeling of driving, Maghsoudi's car features an extended front wing that lifts the nose off the ground at high speeds so that it is as much flown as it is driven.

As well as the main winner, other awards were also handed out for other innovative designs. Featured categories: Best Innovation, Best Use of Technology, Best Production Interior, Best Lifestyle Interior, Best Safety Innovation, Best Personalization, and Best Eco Design Concept.

(www.newcarnet.co.uk)