The ArtCenter Design Invitational is at its core the event previously entitled the ‘Car Classic’. The school launched this 25 years ago, in 2001. This brings together current students, alumni, and industry professionals. Plus, the school hosts world-class samples of transportation.
ArtCenter College of Design Presents the 2026 Design Invitational, a celebration of transportation design excellence with a special focus on Italian Design. The popular event returns to Pasadena on Sunday, May 31 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
This year the ArtCenter Car Classic is dubbed 70 years of Iconic Design. AutoDesignO wrangled some of the extraordinary talent to provide some definition to the word “icons”. Interviews with Erik Goplen, Fireball Tim Lawrence, Jay Leno, Frank Saucedo, Larry Wood, and Roger Zrimec.
This year, ArtCenter’s annual Car Classic celebrates the 70th anniversary of the College’s Transportation Design program and the indelible mark our alumni have made on the world around us, and of course the cars that we know and love.