CINCINNATI – A Moeller student took first place in a contest to design a 2025 Dodge SRT Hellcat.
Ben Treinen, 17, a student at Archbishop Moeller High School, won with his sketch of the futuristic-yet-plausible car.
“I had a pretty good idea of what they were looking for… both aesthetically good looking, but also could be produced,” Ben said. “So not any sort of crazy design that engineers couldn’t make into an actual product, but something that was realistic for 2025.”
Greg Stansorth, a teacher Ben’s sophomore year, got him interested in car design. Stansorth encouraged Ben to participate in the contest.
Unfortunately, the contest was only for Michigan students last year.
This year, the contest opened up to the entire nation.
The national contest for high school students was organized by FCA US, a Michigan automaker that’s part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and makes Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge Ram and FIAT vehicles.
Ben has a lot of experience drawing cars that have already been produced. Getting to design a new car would be a dream come true.
He likes the idea of “just making a car and designing it from the ground up, and getting to see it on the road and people buying it,” he said.
After graduating high school, Ben plans to go to college. After that, maybe working in Detroit could happen.
“I already have an in with the Fiat-Chrysler North American design team,” Ben said.
The other winners are from Macon, Georgia; Bloomfield Hills, Michigan and Wilmette, Illinois.
Ben and the other winners will be recognized Feb. 26 at the annual Detroit Autorama. Their sketches will be on display and they will be awarded prizes including Apple products, a three-week summer course at the College for Creative Services in Detroit and dinner with members of the FCA US design team.
