Finalists announced for the 2011 World Car of the Year
2011 World Car of the Year
2011 World Car of the Year Finalists Announced
WCOTY announced the top three finalists for the World Car of the Year, World Performance Car, World Green Car, and World Car Design of the Year awards, which will be presented at the New York Auto Show in April, following their reveal at the Geneva Motor Show.
By Dai Matsuo
A8, 5 Series, and Leaf
The World Car of the Year award was established in 2005. For the 2011 award, the title of "best car" is decided based on six criteria including value, safety, and environmental performance, among passenger cars sold in at least two different continents between January 2010 and May 30, 2011. The Car of the Year is selected by 66 journalists from 24 countries worldwide. Seven individuals from Japan—Yasuhiko Kawamura, Peter Lyon, Hideshi Matsuda, Peter Nunn, Goro Okazaki, Koji Ozawa, and Kazunori Yamauchi—have been selected as jurors.
The three finalists this year areAudi A8,BMW 5 Series, andNissan Leaf.
Audi A1, BMW X3, Jaguar XJ, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG, Porsche Cayenne, Volvo S60 / V60were selected among the top 10 but did not make it to the finals.
Announced on April 21st at the New York Auto Show, in addition to the World Car of the Year, finalists were also announced for three other awards: World Performance Car, World Green Car, and World Car Design of the Year.
The finalists for the World Performance Car areFerrari 458 Italia, Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG, and Porsche 911 Turbo. The basic criteria require meeting the same standards as the World Car of the Year, with a minimum annual production of 500 units. While not strictly new models, derivative variants are also eligible. Besides the top three mentioned above, those selected in the top 10 wereAston Martin Rapide, Audi RS5, Cadillac CTS-V, Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera, Mercedes-Benz CL63 AMG, Porsche 911 GT2 RS, and Renault Mégane R.S..
The World Green Car award is given to models that are particularly epoch-making in terms of environmental performance. In addition to the 66 jurors, three authorities in environmental technology, including Japan's Etsu Tatenai, participated in the judging for this award.
The top three finalists for this award include the Nissan Leaf, which was also a finalist for the World Car of the Year, the BMW 320d EfficientDynamics Edition with its advanced clean diesel technology, and the much-discussed Chevrolet Volt.
For the World Car Design of the Year, the same sales period conditions apply as for the other awards, but entry is possible even if a car is sold in only one region, not across two continents. This indicates a focus on selecting the car with the best design from around the world, even if it is not mass-produced. In addition to the 66 jurors, two individuals from Japan—Takumi Chiba (Masazane Arimoto) and Tsutomu "Tom" Matano—participated in the judging.
The selected cars areAlfa Romeo Giulietta, Aston Martin Rapide, and Ferrari 458 Italia.
Among the finalists are models not yet introduced in Japan, such as the Korean Kia Sportage andAudi A7.
We will be watching to see which of these will be crowned the best car in each category, and whether the Nissan Leaf will achieve a double win by taking both the World Car of the Year and World Green Car awards.