Hawai'i Koa Competition

• Royal
• Confident
• Close to Nature
• Fierce
• Agile
• Proud
• Disciplined

These are the words that describe the Koa Warriors of ancient Hawai'i. Raised and bred in the land of hunters and fishers, the Koa were trained in the art of close quarters weaponry which they mastered amongst the topography of steep canyons, deep jungle, and rolling seas. Their very name has become synonymous with the strongest and most prized trees on the island, whose burled, lustrous, red timber has built the homes and temples of royalty and the ships and weapons of these warriors.

Koa were the elite warrior class, and their legacy is the stuff of legend in the eight islands of the Hawaiian archipelago. Nowhere else in the world is there such a magnificent collection of islands. Its road networks are a connection of flat-top ribbons whose turns hug the terrain, peeking in and out of jungle, rock and desert, providing punctuated views of the worlds most breathtaking views of land, sea, and sky.

King Kamehameha I came to power as the ali'i nui (ruler) of all Hawai'i after leading his army of Koa warriors to victory in this very Hawai'ian terrain. In his most important victory, he cast the vanquished army of his enemy, Kalanikupule, from the cliffs of the Pali lookout which today overlooks one of the most beautiful and major causeway's that crosses the capital island of Oahu. This historic event on the Pali serves as a focused inspiration for this Local Motors competition. The spirit of this Hawaii Koa vehicle, which will someday grace the road leaping over the Pali lookout, must honor (malama) the fierce and proud history of those who died and fought on that sacred piece of ground.

Since no discussion of Hawai'i would be complete without a mention of surfing, it is worth noting that Koa were as adept on the cliffs in battle as they were in skirmishing on the sea. Disputes were often settled atop the waves where surfing competition provided a serious and religious method to settle conflict. Part of the system of kapu ("that which is forbidden"), the waves were reserved in certain areas for increasingly important members of society from Koa themselves right up to the King. Surfing was more than sport, it was a structure of law and order. This understanding of surfing is a particularly critical element as many today believe that the sport is merely a casual past-time.

Today, modern Hawai'i is a proud and vibrant culture of 1.5 million islanders who are connected by over 1,100 miles of highways and many thousands of miles of smaller roads. While the design of Hawai'ian ships and canoes and the islands have been inextricably linked. Cars and Hawai'i have for a long time had a detached relationship as the island nation, devoid of any of its own manufacturing and far from the marketing studies of the larger car manufacturers, has merely received a hodge-podge smattering of the model lines that the OEMs have produced. Though many companies have used the islands in their advertising campaigns, not one manufacturer has produced a car with Hawai'i specifically in mind. Because of the great distance to transport the finished inventory, Hawaii has typically received new model introductions in a delayed fashion and everything automotive is usually sold at a several thousand $$ premium.

The time has come to honor this proud island community with its own automotive icon around which the descendants of the Koa and the inheritants of their legend can rally. The task of this competition is to sketch a car which embodies the spirit of the Koa. A car for the islands, built in the islands. For the contestants, push your imagination in this wild and inaugural Local Hawaii Motors competition. Never before has an automaker solicited for a plan to build a car with such powerful and emotive Hawai'ian roots, now it is up to you, our community, to deliver a design whose resonance shakes the roots of the Jungle and reverberates within the depths of the islands time-honored volcanic mountains.