Finalists in four World Car Awards categories were revealed today in a press conference at the Geneva International Motor Show. The winners in all fourcategories will be declared at the New York International Auto Show on Thursday, March 28, 2013.
World Car of the Year finalists
"In the voting for this year's WCOTY award, we saw a very closely fought race which resulted in not three, but four finalists!" explained World Car Awards co-chair, Peter Lyon.
Whittled down in a sequential voting process from an initial entry list of 42 new vehicles from all over the world, the finalists are, in alphabetical order by manufacturer:
- Mercedes-Benz A-Class
- Porsche Boxster / Cayman
- Scion FR-S / Subaru BRZ / Toyota 86 / GT 86
- Volkswagen Golf.
To be eligible for the overall World Car award, the candidates must become available for sale on at least two continents during the period beginning January 1, 2012 and May 30, 2013.
Vehicles are selected and voted on by an international jury panel comprising 66 top-level automotive journalists from 23 countries around the world, all of whom hold significant stature within their own regions and countries.
The Volkswagen Up was the 2012 World Car of the Year.
World Performance Car
The top three finalists for the 2013 World Performance Car award are, in alphabetical order:
- Ferrari F12 Berlinetta
- Porsche Boxster / Cayman
- Scion FR-S / Subaru BRZ / Toyota 86 / GT 86.
The Porsche 911 won last’s year’s World Performance Car title.
While the winner of the overall World Car award must excel in a broad range of attributes, the World Performance Car award must demonstrate a specific and overt sports/performance orientation while satisfying the same availability criteria as for the overall World Car of the Year award. They must have a minimum annual production rate of five-hundred (500) vehicles.
World Green Car
The World Green Car award, presented by Bridgestone Corporation (Japan), is selected by the World Car jurors from a short-list compiled by five "green experts" from four different countries on three continents.
In alphabetical order, the top three finalists for the 2013 World Green Car awardare:
- Renault Zoe
- Tesla Model S
- Volvo V60 Plug-in Hybrid.
The 2012 World Green Car was the Mercedes-Benz S250 CDi.
World Car Design of the Year
Cars eligible for the 2013 World Car Design of the Year award may come from the list of World Car candidates or may be stand-alone entries provided they are introduced and available for sale in at least one major market during the designated period.
A design panel of five highly respected world design experts establish a short-list of recommendations for the jurors, from which the finalist were chosen.
The top three design finalists as chosen by the jurors are, in alphabetical order:
- Aston Martin Vanquish
- Jaguar F-Type
- Mazda6
The Range Rover Evoque was voted the 2012 World Car Design of the Year.
About the World Car Awards
Now in their ninth year, the annual World Car awards have become one of the world’s most prestigious, credible and significant programs of its kind.
They were inaugurated in 2003, and officially launched in January 2004, to reflect the reality of the global marketplace, as well as to recognize and reward automotive excellence on an international scale.
The awards are intended to complement, not compete, with existing national and regional Car of the Year programs.
The awards are administered by a non-profit association, under the guidance of a Steering Committee of automotive journalists from Asia, Europe, and North America.
Peter Lyon (Japan) and Matt Davis (Italy) are the co-chairs; John McCormick (USA), Jens Meiners (Germany), Mike Rutherford (U.K.), Eddie Alterman (USA), and Gerry Malloy (Canada) are the directors.
Additional information is available at the World Car Awards website.