Toyota has held the latest round of its Dream Car Art Contest, which has the goal of fostering children's creativity and encouraging them to have fun dreaming. And this year's winner came up with an innovative machine which would be safe in a crash.
How does the process work?
Children aged up to 15 years old from around the world can submit a drawing of whatever car they like, with judges from the worlds of art, art direction and motoring journalism included in the panel.
So far, more than 10 million drawings have been submitted for the Dream Car Art Contest since 2004, with this year's edition - the 18th - seeing 660,000 sketches sent to Toyota from children in 90 countries and regions around the world.
There are winners in three age categories, which are under 7, 8-11 and 12-15, while two special awards are also handed out for drawings which caught the judges' eye - known as the 'Waku-Doki' and 'Let's Change The Future Of Cars' awards.
The grand prize goes to the winner of the 12-15 category, though, and this year it was Kotaro Shirato, from Japan, who won, with his 'Anybody-can-drive Fluffy Car'.
He explained in his statement: "I have a disability, and I won't be able to drive even when I grow up. This car has tyres all over, can drive in every direction and is soft like a cloud. So if it crashes, no one will get hurt.”
What was Kotaro's prize?
In a ceremony held by Toyota, Kotaro was given a special plaque to mark his win, while he also got a passenger ride in a Toyota Crown FCEV.
Other winners were Briella Jamila Masava, from Kenya, in the under 7s for her 'Love Car' - which blows kisses as it drives along, to make the world a better place.
Meanwhile, Plearnfah Siwanarak, from Thailand, took the honours in the 8-11 category with her Animal Feeder Car, which does what it says on the tin.
She added: "I feel joy and peace in receiving this award. Seeing this beautiful plaque made me very happy and excited.
"Thank you, Toyota, for this wonderful project that lets us express our creativity.”
In the Waku-Doki category, the brilliant Crisis Cruiser rescue vehicle took the honours. It was sent in by Rinsha Fathima, from Qatar. She said she was "truly happy and honoured” to have picked up the prize.
And a 10-year-old Chinese entrant scooped the Let's Change The Future Of Cars award with a superb vehicle that was not only banana-shaped but also powered by banana juice.
You can watch the video below to see all the winners and worthy shortlisted finalists in each category from the 2025 Toyota Dream Car Art Contest.