Nine children from across Ireland were chosen from over 600 entries for their impressive artistic skills and inventive ideas. The children and their families gathered at the Toyota Ireland head office on Friday, March 15th, where the finalists were awarded. The chosen nine will now go forward to represent Ireland in Toyota’s worldwide art contest for the chance to win a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Japan with their family in August 2019.

Now in its 13th year, the Dream Car Art Contest reinforces Toyota’s commitment to being ‘Built for a Better World’ as entrants are encouraged to explore their most innovative ideas, letting their imaginations run free. The environment and sustainability were apparent themes as entrants submitted their interpretation of the dream car of the future.

Nine talented young artists were chosen, with three finalists in each category (Under 8 Years, 8-11 Years and 12-15 Years). The talented finalists in each category are as follows;

Under 8 Years

• 1st - May Skehan, (age 7) from Co. Clare with ‘Donut Dream’ 
• 2nd - Lanah Clarke, (age 5) from Co. Galway with ‘Flower Power The Bee Saver Car’
• 3rd - Junhao Yu, (age 6) from Co. Kildare with ‘Flying Car’

8-11 Years

• 1st - Niki Nguyen, (age 11) from Co. Dublin with ‘Air n Solo Power Car’ 
• 2nd - Filip Negru, (age 9) from Co. Kerry with ‘Go Everywhere Toyota’ 
• 3rd - Rory McNamara, (age 8) from Co. Clare with ‘Up Up & Away Dream Car’

12-15 Years

• 1st - Sofia Rós Nic An tSionnaigh, (age 14) from Co. Dublin with ‘The Supreme Fantastical’ 
• 2nd - Kaisín Manning, (age 12) from Co. Wicklow with ‘Cars on Mars’ 
• 3rd - Kiki Wei Yen, (age 12) from Co. Kildare with ‘Environmental Friendly Car’

Toyota Ireland’s judges were electrified by all the children’s innovative designs. Toyota believes that dreams can take people anywhere, and the creations this year were very much in line with the “Built for a Better World” promise.

Toyota Ireland’s judge was awed by the standard of this year’s entries, and the creations this year were very much in line with the ‘Built For A Better World’ brand promise.

Michael Gaynor, Marketing Director at Toyota Ireland said

"Toyota’s Dream Car Art Contest has been running for 13 years now and each year the standard of the Irish entries continues to impress the judges. As the future innovators of Ireland, it’s heartening to see that these children are passionate about the environment and that their creative intelligence knows no bounds. Toyota is always looking to the future and we’re delighted to see the inventiveness coming through in these children’s creations which really brought to life our brand promise ‘Built For A Better World’