ASI Grifo d’Oro 2025: Manik Sharma Wins the Award for Young Car Design Talent

On Friday, 6 February 2026, the headquarters of ASI at Villa Rey in Turin hosted the award ceremony of the ASI Grifo d’Oro Competition 2025, one of the most prestigious initiatives dedicated to emerging talents in automotive design.

The overall winner was Manik Sharma, a 27-year-old Canadian designer and graduate of the IED Torino. Sharma was selected from five finalists by an international jury that evaluated more than 130 submissions from young designers.

Second place was awarded ex aequo to Ilenia Bucchieri (30, Design graduate from the University of Modena) and Lorenzo Cotta (26, graduate of an art high school).

The ceremony was attended by numerous institutional and industry representatives, including Turin City Councillor Rosanna Purchia, Piedmont Regional Councillor Roberto Ravello, Regional Ministers Matteo Marnati and Andrea Tronzano, the President of the Unione Industriali Torino Marco Gay, the President of Vehicle Valley Piemonte Monica Mailander, the Director of the Museo Nazionale dell’Automobile Lorenza Bravetta, and Roberto Giolito, Head of Stellantis Heritage Italy.

The ASI Grifo d’Oro Competition is promoted by ASI’s Manufacturers and Designers Commission and was conceived on the initiative of Enrico Fumia. The contest revives an idea originally launched in 1965 by Nuccio Bertone, a true talent scout who helped shape the careers of some of the most influential designers of the 20th century, including Marcello Gandini, Giorgetto Giugiaro and Franco Scaglione.

The goal of the Grifo d’Oro ASI is to identify and promote young talents with a passion for car design, following—though updated for modern times—the same principles introduced by Bertone in the 1960s. Participants are required to work within strict technical constraints, developing their proposals on a predefined chassis layout that includes significant design challenges. Mechanical components, driving position, wheel movement, and current regulations must all be taken into account, ensuring that the submitted concepts remain realistic and technically feasible.

During the award ceremony, ASI President Alberto Scuro underlined the broader vision behind the initiative: “We look to history to build the future, where today’s young designers will play a leading role. Our aim is to give them this opportunity, while reaffirming Italy’s primary role in car design. For more than a century, Italian style has influenced the global automotive world, and we want to help ensure that this tradition continues with the same success.”

Designer Enrico Fumia also commented on the significance of the competition, recalling his own experience: “I thank ASI for embracing the idea of relaunching an initiative inspired by Bertone’s competitions of the 1960s—an edition I personally won in 1966 in the Junior category. For many years, I have wanted to offer real professional opportunities to young talents who deserve the chance to emerge.”

The jury, chaired by Alberto Scuro, included Enrico Fumia alongside Marie Jeanne Bertone (President of the Nuccio Bertone Foundation), Marta Cinti (Auto & Design), Rodolfo Gaffino Rossi, Maria Paola Stola Ariusso, Massimo Grandi, Gautam Sen, Chris Rees, and Paolo Tumminelli.

The brief for the 2025 competition required contestants to design a compact car suitable for urban and extra-urban use, with fixed limits on wheelbase, length, and width. Designers were free to choose between internal combustion, hybrid, or fully electric powertrains.

The winning proposal by Manik Sharma stood out for its strong functional approach, conceived to integrate seamlessly into a dynamic urban ecosystem where infrastructure and mobility solutions are constantly evolving. Key features of the concept include sliding side doors and a geometric form designed to maximize interior space, with a clear visual reference to the iconic 1960s Brionvega Radio Cubo—a nod to Italian design heritage reinterpreted through a contemporary automotive lens.