The Citroën Hypnos crossover concept, which debuted at the Paris Motor Show, has been named ‘Concept Car of the Year 2008’ at the prestigious Autocar Magazine awards, held at the Royal Horticultural Halls, London.

Abve: the Citroen Hypnos Concept (left) and its design team (right)

Thirty-two-year-old British car designer Leighanne Earley, responsible for the interior design of the Hypnos, has won Autocar’s inaugural Automotive Leader of the Future award, which was conceived to give credit to young and talented Britons working anywhere within the global car industry.

Among the other Autocar awards, the 'Design Award' was won by the Ford Fiesta, while Gordon Murray’s T25 was named 'Idea of the year'.

Hypnos' interior design

The Hypnos’s cabin is remarkable for its use of colour, its asymmetrical layout and its organic, spiral design.

“It’s full of imaginatively sculpted surfaces,” said Autocar editor-in-chief Steve Cropley, “and yet manages to gel perfectly with the Hypnos’s elegant exterior.”

Inside, Hypnos is packed with innovative features and futuristic technology such as thermo-sensitive ambient lighting, a unique faceless clock and diamond-shaped instrument clusters.

The bold interior also features four morphologically-sculpted seats arranged in a DNA double helix-inspired configuration with pivotal blades housing features like the air-conditioning.

The vibrant, rainbow colouring of the interior, offset by the car’s moody grey exterior, challenges the preconceived notions of the ‘executive vehicle’ and showcases Citroën’s creative flair and daring originality.

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About Leighanne Earley

Born in Greenock, Scotland, Leighanne Earley enrolled on Coventry University’s Transport Design course in 1995, and was the responsible for the cabin of the Citroën Hypnos show car.

Earley worked at Lincoln’s design centre in California between her current stint with Citroën and her first, which began shortly after she graduated from Coventry.

Before the Hypnos, she contributed to the cabin designs of the Citroën C-Buggy concept.

Lynda Pickess, Managing Partner of Courland Automotive, said “We are absolutely delighted that Leighanne is to receive this new award, she is proof that the automotive stage is a place for women to shine as well as men.  We look forward to watching her progress over the years that follow”

(Source: Citroen, Autocar)