Our friends at Local Motors have just announced the winners of their recent Pacific Northwest competition.  The comp, aimed at designing a vehicle for the “beautiful extremes” found in the region — earth, wind, water, fire — with the principle idea of thriving in the elements, received over 75 unique concepts.

The winning entry, Pierre Gimbergues’ “GAIA” concept, is a four-seat roadster dedicated to letting the wind flow through our hair as we traverse the trails heading to our mountain-bike starting points.  The vehicle’s high ride height are further accentuated by the definitive shoulder-to-body break, in which the upper portion of the vehicle’s bodyside is defined by an elemental color (green, red, blue, brown) and the lower by a darker, textured material capable of surviving the pounding of the terrain.

Recently, the quickly-growing LM has noted that any of the concepts that win a competition have the ability to become a future vehicle, should there be enough desire and feedback to do so.  Time will tell if the GAIA will be seen on the road, but it’s a promising start.

Other winners included Olivier Poulet’s “PANGEA” in 2nd Place and Marc Senger’s “Pacific Motors Rove” in third.

More images and full press release below.

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