Mazda Vision Coupe wins Concept Car of the Year award

The Range Rover Velar won the production car design of the year.

The Mazda Vision Coupe has won the Concept Car of the Year. The award, voted on by 18 top designers working in the industry, was presented in Geneva this week.

The Mazda Vision stunned the world at its Tokyo debut last October. Though called the Vision Coupe, it actually has four-doors in the modern "four-door coupe" mold. Intended as a preview for the next evolution of Mazda's Kodo design language, its dominant feature were the compound curves of the sheetmetal, which played with the way light reflected off its surfaces. It was a honing of the design language shown on the RX-Vision sports car concept shown in 2015 towards a more real-world sedan application.

Mazda beat out the Honda Urban EV, which came in second, and Kia Proceed Concept, which came in third place. Car Design News, a publication for transportation designers which hosted the awards, called the Vision Coupe "sophisticated" and "nothing short of gorgeous; a triumphant exercise in refinement with its classic long hood/rearward cabin proportions and elegant, flowing silhouette."

The Production Car of the Year award for best design went to the Range Rover Velar. CDN said of it, "arguably one of the most holistic and complete pieces of automotive design seen in decades and has disproved the idea that an SUV can't be beautiful." The Velar bested the Volvo XC40 in second and the Alpine A110 in third.