Italian cars are represented as the World Car of the Year shortlist is announced: the Fiat 500 (top) is in the final voting of WCOTY, while the new Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 (bottom) has made the category dedicated to Performance Cars.

Italian cars are represented as the World Car of the Year shortlist is announced: the Fiat 500 is in the final voting of WCOTY, while the new Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 has made the category dedicated to Performance Cars. The countdown has begun in preparation for the 2009 World Car awards winners’ press conference at the New York International Auto Show on Thursday, April 9, 2009.

A jury of fifty-nine distinguished international automotive journalists selected the finalists by secret ballot, based on their experience with each candidate as part of their professional work. The jury members constitute a balance of representation from Asia, Europe, North America, South America, as well as other parts of the world. All hold significant stature within their own regions and countries.

The international accounting firm KPMG tabulated the jurors’ ballots and announced the top ten finalists in both categories on January 23rd.

The 2009 World Car of the Year will be selected from the following cars listed in alphabetical order. Eleven cars are listed as there is a tie.

- Audi A4/Avant
- BMW 7 Series
- Citroen C5 Sedan/C5 Tourer
- Fiat 500
- Ford Fiesta
- Honda Fit/Jazz
- Jaguar XF
- Mazda Atenza / Mazda6
- Nissan GT-R
- Toyota iQ
- Volkswagen Golf VI 

The 2009 World Performance Car will be chosen from one of these top ten finalists:

- Audi RS 6 Avant
- BMW 135i Coupe/Cabriolet
- Corvette ZR1
- Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4
- Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG
- Mercedes-Benz SL 63 AMG
- Mitsubishi Evo X/Evo MR
- Nissan GT-R
- Porsche 911 Carrera
- Subaru Impreza WRX STI 

The jurors’ next step is to re-evaluate the “top ten” cars in both classes, in preparation for a final round of voting in February. They will specifically rate each vehicle in terms of overall merit, value, safety, environmental responsibility, emotional appeal, and significance. KPMG will again tabulate the vote results; then announce the top three finalists on March 9, 2009.

Finalists in the World Car Design of the Year category are handled quite differently. A panel of four highly respected world design experts assists the jurors by developing for them a short list of recommendations taken from the array of entries in the 2009 World Car of the Year category. The design experts are (in alpha order):  Silvia Baruffaldi: Managing Editor, Auto & Design magazine; Robert Cumberford:  design critic, Automobile and Auto & Design magazines; Akira Fujimoto: Editor-in-Chief, Car Styling magazine and Tom Matano: Executive Director, School of Industrial Design, Academy of Art University, San Francisco, USA. The fifty-nine jurors then choose the 2009 World Car Design of the Year winner from this short list when they vote in February. The top three contenders will also be announced by KPMG on March 9, 2009. 

Now in their sixth year, the annual World Car awards have become one of the most prestigious and credible programs of their type in the world. The awards 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 a global 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 preeminent automotive journalists from Asia, Europe, and North America. There is no affiliation with, nor are the awards in any way influenced by any publication, auto show, automaker, or other commercial enterprise.