Claudio was one of 40 students who put forward work for the competition which was sponsored by Peter Neumark, the Chairman of Classic Motor Cars of Bridgnorth, CMC, who are one of the country's top restorers of the famous marque.

Peter asked Jaguar Cars head of design, Ian Callum to get involved, and both the number of entries and the quality of the work that was produced surprised both.

A series of elimination panels was held and it eventually came down to three students who the judging panel, which was made up of Course Tutor David Browne, Peter Neumark, Ian Callum and David Barzilay, felt had created the best sculptures.

The winning sculptures were unveiled at the Cholmondeley Pageant of Power.

Second in the competition was Junyi Qu aged 24, from Weihai city in Shandong Province, China, and third Borys Dabrowski aged 21, from Goleniow in Poland. All three students have been awarded with cash prizes.

In addition to the cash prize, Claudio Gianluca Barbato’s winning sculpture will be cast and produced in a five limited and numbered edition that is to be auctioned to raise money for The Henry Surtees Foundation.

Judge Ian Callum, the head of design at Jaguar Cars, said: 'All three models were exceptional in the expression of form and movement,' he added: 'For me, Claudio's model presented the clearer statement of the simplicity, beauty and dynamics of the E-type.'

Winner of the competition, Claudio Gianluca Barbato, said: 'The E-type Jaguar is one of the most beautiful cars of all time, a shape design so successful that its influence can still be seen in some of today's Grand Tourers.  I’ve had a passion for cars since I was a child and dream of being a car designer working in the automotive industry.”

Peter Neumark, Chairman of CMC, said: 'I am delighted with the outcome of the competition. Coventry University School of Automotive Design has produced many talented designers over the years who help shape the cars we drive today and of course tomorrow.'

He added: 'I wanted to create something that would celebrate the 50th anniversary of the famous marque and if possible incorporate original metal from the Lindner Nocker lightweight E-type that has recently been restored. And what better way than to involve students at the school of automotive design in Coventry.'