Photo Caption: Marco Mattiacci President CEO Ferrari North America with the World Performance Car winner for 2011, 458 Italia 2011
Auto Awards
At a press conference hosted by Bridgestone Corporation and the New York International Auto Show, the Ferrari 458 Italia was declared the 2011 World Performance Car.
The Ferrari 458 Italia was chosen from an initial entry list of fourteen (14) new cars from all over the world, then a short list of ten, then three finalists: the Ferrari 458 Italia, the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG, and the Porsche 911 Turbo.
“Our goal in engineering the 458 Italia was to match the technology and extreme performance developed for our racing activities with the demands of our drivers, who wish to enjoy their cars on the road and experience the unique emotions that only a Ferrari can provide" said Marco Mattiacci, President and CEO, Ferrari North America. “Today's award as 2011 World Performance Car makes us very proud and confident that we achieved our goals” concluded Mattiacci.
The World Car Awards jurors observed that, “The replacement for the F430 Fiorano has been voted by nearly every possible ranking this past year as the best performer hands down. The WCA's would love to break ranks with the crowd, but we also put the 458 Italia squarely among our top three world performance cars. Whether on the track or on a loosely policed winding two-lane mountain road, the technology on board the 458 sets it and its 570 metric horsepower far ahead of most every other V8-powered street car. This is a classic modern Ferrari in every sense, but its sophisticated handling abilities at the limit take it to a whole new level for Italian super GTs. And what a beautiful sound.”
Candidates for 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. Candidates may be chosen from the World Car of the Year list of eligible vehicles, or they may be newly introduced variants that satisfy the same criteria, but are derived from existing rather than brand-new models. In all cases, they must have a minimum annual production rate of five-hundred (500) vehicles.
Previous World Performance Car winners were the Audi R8 V10 in 2010, the Nissan GT-R in 2009, the Audi R8 in 2008, the Audi RS4 in 2007 and the Porsche Cayman S in 2006.
Vehicles are selected and voted on by an international jury panel comprised of sixty-six (66) top-level automotive journalists from twenty-four (24) countries around the world. Each juror was appointed by the World Car Steering Committee on the basis of his or her expertise, experience, credibility, and influence. Each juror typically drives and evaluates new vehicles on a regular basis as part of their professional work. Through their respective outlets they collectively reach an audience of many millions world-wide.
Prime Research International, a global leader in strategic communication research and consultancy is once again the World Car Awards’ research partner. The company will provide strategic reports in 2011 that analyze our awards global automotive media coverage.
Source World Car Awards
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