TORSUS, in partnership with Werkemotion – an independent award-winning transportation and industrial design studio – designed the TORSUS PRAETORIAN, the world’s first heavy duty 4×4 off-road bus. Designed to transport personnel and equipment safely across the world’s harshest environments, the bus is based on an upgraded heavy-duty MAN chassis and is powered by MAN engines and drivetrain. From the Michelin off-road tyres, to the Line-X™ military grade coating on body parts, PRAETORIAN is engineered to take on any terrain, in any conditions, anywhere in the world.
For over 60 years, the Red Dot Award has provided a platform for designers and companies to assess good design. Each of the 6500 products entered into the competition, from 60 countries worldwide, were tested and judged by an expert jury in search of the very best in design and innovation. Lasting several days, the jurors test all the entries in order to assess the aesthetic, the materials selected, the level of craftsmanship, the surface structure, ergonomics and functionality. After long discussions together, they decide on the design quality of the products, with only the best designs receiving an award.
Vakhtang Dzhukashvili, founder and CEO of TORSUS said: “It’s a privilege and an honour for us to be awarded the globally respected and admired Red Dot award, for the outstanding design of our iconic TORSUS PRAETORIAN. We are very proud to accept this award and it is testament to the skilled work of the TORSUS team and our design partners at Werkemotion who, together, helped produce the world’s toughest and most capable off-road bus.”
Bystrík Míček, CEO and Design Manager of Werkemotion, said: “We would like to congratulate TORSUS on receiving the esteemed Red Dot award for Product Design. We are very proud to worked alongside TORSUS to design the world’s first off-road 4×4 bus and we are ecstatic they have been selected for what is, undoubtedly, one of the best product design awards in the world.”
Professor Dr. Peter Zec, founder and CEO of Red Dot said: “The winners of the Red Dot Award have proved that they have created excellent products worthy of winning an award. The products won over the jury not only through their aesthetic, but also thanks to their incomparable functionality. With their designs, the award winners are setting new standards in their industry. I wish to congratulate them most sincerely on their success.”
In addition to the award, on 22 June 2020, the TORSUS PRAETORIAN will be added to the exhibition “Design on Stage” in the Red Dot Design Museum Essen, where all of the award-winning products will be on show. The museum will therefore be a hot spot for best-in-class industrial design. From that date, the TORSUS PRAETORIAN will also be presented in the online exhibition on the Red Dot website and in the Red Dot Design Yearbook 2020/2021, which comes out in July 2020.
