Rooted in more calming colour palettes, none of the factory-offered colours for the made-in-Singapore Hyundai Ioniq 6 are what you'd call 'bright' or 'vibrant'.

For a brief period of time however, fans of the car will get to feast their eyes on a special unit — decked out in a one-of-a-kind decal — that should make it even more head-turning than it already was.

Hyundai Motor Group Innovation Centre Singapore (HMGICS) and Lasalle College of the Arts (Lasalle) have pulled the covers off a locally-conceived Ioniq 6 art car.

Its unveiling on Wednesday evening (Jan 22) marked the culmination of a nearly six-month journey that began with the announcement of the inaugural local Ioniq 6 design competition, as part of HMGICS' range of CSR initiatives launched in August last year. 

As one of the first pillars of HMGICS' ongoing partnership with Lasalle, the competition was open to students from the school's Diploma in Design for Communication and Experiences programme, who were challenged to concoct a complete car decal design for the Ioniq 6.

HMGICS and Lasalle have shared that the partnership aims to "offer learning opportunities and increase exposure to real-world industry applications" for students.

Five finalist contestants were then selected to undergo one-on-one mentorship with local urban artist and illustrator, Toby Tan (known as @tobyato), right at the HMGICS design studio.

True to the promise of exposing students to real-world industry applications, the finalists were also tasked with ideating social media content that helped shed light on their design concepts and processes.

First-year Lasalle student, Ngo Quynh Phuong, eventually emerged as the winner of the competition, as well as proud recipient of an all-expenses-covered, four-day trip to Seoul.

Using the city as a living medium, Phuong was able to explore concepts surrounding design philosophy, and even speak to both the exterior and interior designers of the Ioniq 6 at Hyundai Motorstudio Goyang, where she was given feedback and extra insights into her decal design.

On this note, Phuong's winning 'Dragon of the East' decal pays direct homage to Singapore's identity as one of Asia's powerhouses.

Explaining her design process, Phuong shared that the image of the mythical beast formed the basis of her decal, with its strength, power and speed holding up a perfect mirror to the "prowess and capabilities of the Ioniq 6".

The parallels between creature and car don't end there: Elements of the dragon's natural environment — waves and clouds — were intended to highlight the Ioniq 6's environmentally-friendly credentials as a fully electric car.

The unveiling of the 'Dragon of the East' decal comes nearly one-and-a-half years after HMGICS opened its doors in Jurong.

Beyond just serving as an innovation hub and assembly facility for Hyundai, Hyundai states that initiatives such as its partnership with Lasalle evince its commitment to making a positive impact on the local community, as well as to empowering local talent.

Following its stint at Lasalle, the special Ioniq 6 will move back home to HMGICS, where it will be showcased to the public for the month of February, starting from Feb 4, 2025.

This article was first published in sgCarMart.