Hot on the heels of its nomination as Scottish Small Car of the Year, Fiat Auto’s Grande Punto has just received another award in the UK, this time it is Autocar magazine’s coveted Design Award 2006, which was collected by Frank Stephenson, the Head of Fiat and Lancia Stile, at a ceremony at Brooklands near London on Tuesday evening, 14 November.

In its award citation, Autocar commented: “Grande Punto was an instant hit. Building on the Panda’s progress, it brought one of the fastest turnarounds on record to Fiat Auto. And more than anything, it was the Grande Punto’s design that made the difference. Chuck in some funky interiors, decent quality, the usual excellent packaging and keen prices, and you have the desired blockbuster.” Since its UK launch, in February 2006, the Fiat Grande Punto had recorded sales of almost 29,000 units by the end of last month.

Every year the Autocar Awards celebrate the biggest automotive success stories in the UK from the past 12 months – and the people who made them happen, say Autocar. This year's awards ceremony took place at the spectacular Mercedes-Benz World complex which is located at the historic Brooklands race track near London, on Tuesday night.