For years, the Drive for Design contest has asked American high schoolers to do something that most professional designers spend careers attempting: imagine what comes next. This year, Stellantis is asking younger students to try their hand at it, too.
The automaker announced an expansion of its annual design competition, extending eligibility to students as young as kindergarten through the addition of a new junior division. Previously limited to students in grades 10 through 12, the contest now encompasses six grade levels across two separate tracks, making it one of the more ambitious youth design initiatives in the American automotive industry.
The theme for 2026 — “Design the Future of Fast” — asks entrants to conceive a next-generation vehicle under one of Stellantis’ performance-oriented brands: Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep or Ram, with a particular focus on the company’s recently revived SRT performance division.
Presiding over the effort is Mark Trostle, Stellantis vice president of exterior design for Ram Truck, Mopar and SRT, whose relationship with the contest predates his executive title by decades. As a high school student, Mr. Trostle won an earlier iteration of the very same competition. He went on to lead SRT’s design team before the division was temporarily shelved, and has now returned to helm it again — a trajectory that company officials have been quick to describe as a full-circle moment.
“Designing an SRT vehicle means unleashing a fearless mindset,” Mr. Trostle said in a statement, “and dreaming up performance-driven ideas that look fast even when they’re standing still.”
Under the newly structured format, the junior division will be divided into three age brackets — kindergarten through third grade, fourth through sixth grade, and seventh through ninth grade — with one winner selected from each group. The traditional competition for high school upperclassmen will award one grand-prize winner and two finalists.
Submissions, which must be hand-drawn or digitally rendered sketches, are due by noon Eastern time on April 23, 2026. Additional details, including prize information and free design resources, are available at StellantisDriveForDesign.com