The World Car Awards' jury announced the Top 10 finalists for World Performance Car of the Year in preparation for the 2011 World Car Awards winners’ press conference co-hosted by the New York International Auto Show on Thursday, April 21.
A jury of sixty-six (66) distinguished international automotive journalists selected the following top ten 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 2011 World Performance Car of the Year will be selected from the following top ten cars listed here:
1. The Aston Martin Rapide is a four-door, high-performance sport sedan, which British luxury marque Aston Martin introduced in 2010 to compete with the Maserati Quattroporte and Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class, along with the upcoming Audi A7, Lamborghini Estoque, Porsche Panamera and BMW Gran Turismo.
Earlier in the week, the overall 'World Car of the Year' Top 10 field was announced. The Top 3 finalists in both categories will be named at a press conference at the Geneva Motor Show in March, and the winner in both categories will be announced at the 2011 New York International Auto Show in April.The Audi RS5 features a new 4.2-litre naturally aspirated V8 with 444 bhp (331 kW; 450 PS) and 317 lb·ft (430 N·m) of torque. The engine is a re-worked version of the old RS4/R8 V8, which is closely related to the V10 in the R8.Audi RS 5 Coupeif you are unable to afford a real Ferrari, a fridge magnet of one makes a nice novelty gift.
Ferrari 458 ItaliaNow in its eighth year, the annual World Car awards have become one of the world’s most prestigious, credible and significant programs of its kind.Lamborghini Gallardo SUPERLEGGThe CL 63 debuted at the Paris Motor Show on September 13, 2006. It features a 6.2 liter AMG V8, the CL 63 AMG is rated at 386 kW (525 hp) and 630 Newton metres of peak torque, resulting in a 0-62 mph time of 4.5 seconds (according to Mercedes-Benz) and an electronically limited top speed of 155 mph (250 km/h).--------------
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 an international scale. The awards are intended to complement, not compete, with existing national and regional Car of the Year programs.Mercedes-Benz S63 / CL 63 AMGThe Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG is a luxury grand tourer automobile developed by Mercedes-AMG to replace the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren. The car is the first Mercedes automobile designed in-house by AMG and is described by Mercedes-Benz as a spiritual successor to the Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing, despite a design that visually draws more of its inspiration from the 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupé.
The vehicle was unveiled at the 2009 IAA. Sales began in mid-2010 in Europe with MSRP of €177,310 (including taxes) and will begin in the United States in mid-2011 for less than $200,000. The SLS AMG is featured as the cover car for the PlayStation 3 racing game Gran Turismo 5, and was the safety car for the 2010 Formula One season.Mercedes-Benz SLS AMGOn May 4, 2010, an RS variant was announced to German dealers in Leipzig. The GT2 RS develops 620 PS (456 kW; 612 hp) and 700 N·m (516 lb·ft) of torque and weighs 70 kg (150 lb) less than the standard GT2, allowing for a top speed of 330 km/h (210 mph) and 0-100km/h (0-62mph) acceleration of 3.4 seconds. The GT2 RS clocked a record-breaking time of 7 minutes and 18 seconds around the Nürburgring-Nordschleife track (claimed by Porsche), one of the fastest times in modern production car history.According to Porsche Motorsports manager Andreas Preuninger, the RS was conceived around 2007 as a skunk-works effort. The 727 code number selected for the project corresponds to one of the Nissan GT-R's lap times around the Nurburgring's Nordschleife. When the dust settled, Porsche test driver Timo Kluck had eclipsed that target by an impressive nine seconds.Porsche 911 GT2RSThe awards are administered by a non-profit association, under the guidance of a Steering Committee of pre-eminent automotive journalists from Asia, Europe, and North America. Peter Lyon (Japan) and Matt Davis (Italy) are the co-chairs; John McCormick (USA), Jens Meiners (Germany) and Gerry Malloy (Canada) are the directors. There is no affiliation with, nor are the awards in any way influenced by any publication, auto show, automaker, or other commercial enterprise. Cadillac CTS-V CoupePorsche 911 Turbo accelerates to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 3.7 seconds (with the manual transmission) and reaches a top speed of 310 km/h (193 mph). However, these are official figures and Porsche is notable for being conservative about their power and performance ratings. Motor Trend Magazine has clocked the 997 Turbo's 0–60 mph time in 3.2 seconds with the Tiptronic transmission. Jeremy Clarkson on his "Thriller" dvd, showed that on a de-restricted stretch of autobahn with just the right downwards gradient, the car maxed out 200 mph (320 km/h).Porsche 911 TurboThe new Mégane Renaultsport 250 was unveiled at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show. It includes a 2.0L twin-scroll turbo 4-cylinder engine rated 250 PS (184 kW; 247 bhp) at 5500 rpm and 340 N·m (250 lb·ft) at 3000 rpm with 6-speed manual gearbox, front splitter, extended sills and wheel arches, rear diffuser with central exhaust pipe, and 18-inch alloy wheels.
RenaultThe Aston Martin Rapide is a four-door, high-performance sport sedan, which British luxury marque Aston Martin introduced in 2010 to compete with the Maserati Quattroporte and Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class, along with the upcoming Audi A7, Lamborghini Estoque, Porsche Panamera and BMW Gran Turismo.Aston Martin Rapide
