World COTY finalists announced
Results of the 2014 World Car Awards will be announced at the New York International Auto Show (NYIAS) on 17 April 2014, and finalists of the five awards – 2014 World Car of the Year, World Luxury Car, World Performance Car, World Green Car and World Car Design of the Year – have been announced earlier this week.
The finalists are selected by a panel of 69 international automotive journalists by secret ballot, and the results tabulated by international audit firm KPMG.
Four of the last five World Car of the Year Awards have been won by Volkswagen, with the Golf notable for winning it in 2009 and again in 2013 with the all-new Mk VII model. This year will definitely see a new marque take the pedestal, although the Golf VII’s MQB platform mates – Audi A3 and Skoda Octavia – are in the mix. There are a total of 12 nominees announced for the 2014 World Car of the Year:
Audi A3
BMW 4 Series
BMW i3
Cadillac CTS
Citroen C4 Picasso
Ford Fusion / Mondeo
Infiniti Q50
Jeep Cherokee
Lexus IS
Mazda3
Peugeot 308
Skoda Octavia
The World Luxury Car award is a newly created category and is given for the first time in 2014 to ‘acknowledge higher-priced premium models selling in more limited numbers worldwide.’ A total of ten finalists have been announced for the 2014 World Luxury Car:
Bentley Flying Spur
BMW X5
Cadillac ELR
Cadillac Escalade
Maserati Ghibli
Maserati Quattroporte
Mercedes-Benz S-Class
Porsche Macan
Range Rover Sport
Rolls-Royce Wraith
In the 2014 World Performance Car award, the 911 GT3 and 911 Turbo will have the opportunity to make it three successive wins for Porsche in this category having been named in a pool of eleven finalists:
Alfa Romeo 4C
Audi RS 6 Avant
BMW M6 Gran Coupe
Chevrolet Corvette Stingray
Ferrari 458 Speciale
Ford Fiesta ST
Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4 Roadster
Mercedes-Benz A/CLA45 AMG
Porsche 911 GT3
Porsche 911 Turbo
Volkswagen Golf GTI
The 2014 World Green Car category, meanwhile, has five finalists selected by a panel of five green technology experts appointed by the World Car Awards Steering Committee. The five vehicles selected by the panel of experts will be reviewed and voted by the main panel of 69 jurors in a second round of voting taking place this month:
Audi A3 Sportback e-tron (+ Audi e-gas)
BMW i3
Honda Accord Hybrid
Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV
Volkswagen XL1
Finally, for the World Car Design of the Year, the panel of jurors once again vote from a shortlist of vehicles selected by a panel of five ‘highly respected world design experts’. To qualify for this category, the selected vehicle must be available with minimum quantity of ten vehicles in at one major market during the period from 1 January 2013 to 30 May 2014.
BMW i3
Cadillac CTS
Citroen C4 Picasso
Mazda3
Lexus IS
Mercedes-Benz C-Class
Volkswagen XL1
The above shortlists will be narrowed to just three cars per category at the Geneva International Motor Show on 4 March 2014.
KON
Pictures: Autoworld archive and official manufacturer release.
