2019 World Car Awards: And Now There Is One... McLaren 720S – 2019 World Performance Car

April 17, 2019 by World Car Awards

New York, April 17, 2019 - The Road to the World Car Awards journey concluded today with a grande finale awards ceremony and press conference that opened the New York International Auto Show. The McLaren 720S was declared the 2019 World Performance Car.

'We feel grateful anytime one of our cars wins an award, but to have the 720S named World Performance Car is particularly special,' said Mike Flewitt, Chief Executive Officer, McLaren Automotive. 'We believe the 720S is a revolutionary step forward for both McLaren, as well as the supercar segment, and to have it recognized in this way by an organization made up of the most esteemed media across the globe is a great honour.'

The McLaren 720S was chosen from an initial entry list of six cars from all over the world then a short list three finalists as announced Geneva on March 5th. The 2019 Top Three in the World finalists are the Aston Martin Vantage, the McLaren 720S and the Mercedes-Benz AMG 4-door Coupe.

Candidates eligible for World Performance Car must be produced in volumes of at least 2,000 units/year, must be overtly performance focused in nature, and must be available for sale on at least two continents during the period beginning January 1, 2018 and ending May 31, 2019.

Previous World Performance Car winners were the BMW M5 (2018), the Porsche Boxster Cayman (2017), the Audi R8 Coupe (2016), the Mercedes-Benz AMG GT (2015), then three Porsche wins in a row: the 911 GTE in 2014, the Boxster/Cayman in 2013, and the 911 in 2012. Ferrari won the 2011 World Performance title for the 458 Italia while the Audi R8 V10 won 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 were selected and voted on by an international jury panel comprised of 86 prominent automotive journalists from 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. The international accounting firm KPMG tabulates the jurors' ballots.

The Road to the World Car Awards is an annual journey in partnership with the New York International Auto Show. The journey follows our international journalists as they test-drive, and vote on, the 2019 eligible vehicles. The official launch took place in Paris on October 2nd and ended with today's winners' press conference.

World Car made several stops along the way: our fifth annual L.A. Test Drives event concluded the last week of November. The event was an outstanding success with 48 jurors attending from 18 different countries across the six day event. ZF was the event's exclusive host.

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World Car also made a stop at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas on January 10, 2019 where together World Car and ZF hosted a panel discussion moderated by Tim Stevens (Editor-in-Chief, CNET'S Roadshow and World Car director).

Of course, The Road To the World Car Awards doesn't really stop. Just a few weeks from now the World Car Garage will be staged for the fourth year at the London Motor & Tech Show May 16-19; offering a glimpse of the 2020 contenders as well as celebrating the 2019 winners.

The Global Trends Report, co-presented annually by Prime Research and Autoneum, was also announced today during the New York show's opening media breakfast. The report is the culmination of research and insights across the past six months. Autoneum CEO Martin Hirzel said: 'The Global Trends Report is a valuable instrument for identifying future directions and a guide for prioritizing them. Actual trends such as electric mobility will characterize the automotive industry, what offers exciting development prospects for Autoneum. Our innovative products and technologies for acoustic and thermal management make vehicles quieter, safer, lighter and contribute to a comfortable driving experience. I am looking forward to the announcement of the 2019 World Car Award winners and I am confident that again the majority of all winning models is equipped with Autoneum components!'