At a press conference
held at
the New York International Auto Show today the Ferrari
458 Italia has been announced as the winner of the 2011 World
Performance Car award.
The Ferrari 458 Italia
was chosen from an initial entry list of fourteen 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 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 top-level automotive journalists from
twenty-four 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. Now in their seventh year, the annual World
Car awards have become one of the world’s most
prestigious, credible and significant programs of its
kind.
