And Now There Is One... Jaguar F-PACE Wins 2017 World Car Design Of The Year

NEW YORK, April 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The Jaguar F-PACE was declared the 2017 World Car Design of the Year today at a press conference hosted by the New York International Auto Show, Bridgestone Corporation, and Autoneum.

This is a second design award for Jaguar.  The Jaguar F-Type previously won the World Car Design of the Year award in 2013.

Ian Callum, Director of Design, Jaguar, said: "The F-PACE is our first ever SUV but it is clearly recognisable as a Jaguar and for it to win the 2017 World Car Design of the Year trophy vindicates our decision to bring our unique design principles and dynamic qualities to a new sector of the market."

The World Car Design of the Year category, and the corresponding award, are meant to highlight new vehicles with innovation and style that push established boundaries. 

Candidates for the design award may be on the overall World Car of the Year list OR may be included as a stand-alone entry provided the vehicle is available in quantities of at least 10 in one major market during the period beginning January 1, 2016 and ending May 31, 2017.  Candidates may be pre-production or all-new production.

A design panel consisting of six highly respected world design experts was asked to first review each candidate, and then establish a short-list of recommendations for the jurors.  The design experts were:   

Masatsugu Arimoto (Japan – Freelance design journalist)
Anne Asensio (Vice-President, Design - Dassault Systemes)
Gernot Bracht (Germany – Pforzheim Design School)
Patrick le Quément (Designer and President of the Strategy Committee, Sustainable Design School)
Sam Livingstone (U.K.  - Car Design Research and Royal College of Art)
Tom Matano (USA - School of Industrial Design at Academy of Art University in San Francisco)

The experts commented that, "The design of the F-PACE is both sensuous and expressive. It maintains the visual link with recent models of the brand, whose expressive pitch has leant towards low road hugging proportions. It is a stand alone attraction when parked on the curb side next to any of its contemporaries."

The 75 World Car Awards jurors then voted on the expert's recommendations in February and their ballots were tabulated by the international accounting firm KPMG.

A short-list of three finalists was then announced earlier this month at the Geneva International Motor Show in March: the Jaguar F-PACE, the Mercedes-Benz S-Class Cabriolet and the Toyota C-HR

Previous winners of the World Car Design of the Year award were the Mazda MX-5 (2016), the Citroen C4 Cactus (2015), the BMW i3 (2014), the Jaguar F-Type(2013) , the Range Rover Evoque (2012), the Aston Martin Rapide (2011), the Chevrolet Camaro (2010), the Fiat 500 (2009), the Audi R8 (2008), the Audi TT (2007) and the Citroen C4 (2006). 

The Road to World Car began in Paris on September 29, was followed by test-drives in Los Angeles in November, continued in Geneva with the Top Three in the World announcement, and finally ended today with the declaration of the winners in six categories at the New York International Auto Show.

2017 marks the 11th anniversary of the partnership between World Car and the New York show, and the fourth consecutive year that the World Car Awards have retained their ranking as the number one automotive awards program in the world in terms of media reach.

The Global Trends Report, co-presented annually by Prime Research and Autoneum, was also released today. The report is the culmination of research and insights across the past six months. Autoneum CEO Martin Hirzel said, "The auto industry is in the midst of an upheaval that goes far beyond anything it has experienced in the past 100 years. Emerging industry trends such as autonomous driving, electric mobility and connected cars are changing not only vehicles and their technologies but also their concepts and forms. As the market leader in acoustic and thermal management for vehicles, Autoneum today already offers a large variety of multifunctional and lightweight technologies and components to meet the requirements of modern mobility. With our recently established "Competence Center for New Mobility" in Sunnyvale, California, Autoneum is taking a committed and active role in driving vehicle advancement by developing innovative technologies and components for all forms of mobility."

World Car of the Year is more than just an awards program. The World Car community brings together a large cross section of experts and professionals from every segment of the automotive industry. World Car connects the global industry around the very best of today and inspires, with insights, the ideas and trends of tomorrow. Thus defining The Road Ahead platform shared with our presenting partners Bridgestone Corporation, Prime Research, Autoneum and, most recently, Brembo.

"As the world's largest tire and rubber company, we are proud to partner with the World Car program for the 9th consecutive year," said Mike Martini, president, original equipment tire sales, U.S. and Canada, Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations. "This is an important forum for leaders in the automotive industry to celebrate achievements in innovation, performance and sustainability. As new mobility preferences emerge, we must continue to collaborate across our industry to deliver cutting-edge technology and world-class products that meet the needs of a changing global customer base."

In a rapidly changing automotive world, Brembo is also focused firmly on the future and the vehicles it will bring to market. Brembo is committing significant resources to perfecting ever more sophisticated virtual simulation methodologies that includes the study of forms, materials, technologies and surface treatments able to meet the needs of the new-generation vehicles, with a particular focus on environmental impact aspects, which drives all of Brembo's development activities.

As the global nature of the industry continues to strengthen, and the pace of innovation continues to accelerate, World Car is proud to be a part of this amazing journey along with the New York International Auto Show, Prime Research, Autoneum, Brembo, Bridgestone Corporation, KPMG and Newspress – our official media partner.

For additional information visit our web site (www.wcoty.com).

About World Car Awards

Now in their 13th year, the annual World Car Awards are the number one awards program in the world for the fourth consecutive year based on Prime Research's 2016 media report. 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 administered by a not-for-profit association, under the guidance of a Steering Committee:  Peter Lyon (chair – Japan), Jens Meiners (vice-chair – Germany), Mike Rutherford (vice-chair – UK), Tamara Warren (director – USA), Siddarth Patankar (director – India) and Gerry Malloy (director – Canada and president, WCOTY Association) 

About the New York International Auto Show
Owned and operated by the Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association, the New York Auto Show is an awesome combination of new ideas, technological innovation, exceptional concept cars and nearly 1,000 of the latest new cars and trucks.  Over one million visitors are expected to visit the show this year to see what is truly possible from the automotive industry.

Important 2017 Auto Show Dates 
Press Preview, April 12 & 13(credentials required)
Public Sneak Preview, Friday, April 14
Public Show Dates, Friday, April 14 – Sunday, April 23, 2017

THE ROAD TO WORLD CAR:
BEGAN IN PARIS SEPT. 29, 2016.  ENDED IN NEW YORK APRIL 13, 2017.

FOLLOW OUR 70+ INTERNATIONAL JURORS:  wcoty.com #wcoty

SOURCE World Car Awards