The Car of the Century (COTC) is an international award that was given to the world's most influential car of the 20th century. [1] The election process was overseen by the Global Automotive Elections Foundation. [2] The winner, the Ford Model T, was announced at an awards gala on December 18, 1999 in Las Vegas, Nevada, US. [3]
An elaborate and formal process for deciding the Car of the Century was devised. It started in October 1996, when a list of 700 cars was offered by the COTC organising committee as candidates for the award, which their experts had selected from recommendations made from within the car industry and from car clubs. [4]
In February 1997 a list of 200 eligible cars was announced at the AutoRAI motor show in Amsterdam, having been selected from the 700 by an honorary committee of experts who were all independent and highly respected and experienced automotive experts. [5]
The next step was for a jury of 133 professional automotive journalists [6] from 33 countries, under the presidency of Lord Montagu of Beaulieu, [7] to reduce the list to 100, and the result was announced at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 1997. [8]
The elimination process proceeded with an Internet-based public vote [9] to select 10 cars, and for 25 cars to be selected by the jury of professionals. In the event, 9 out of the 10 cars selected by the public were also amongst the 25 selected by the journalists (the AC Cobra being the extra car selected by the public), so 26 cars were announced at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1999, as the nominees for the next round. [10]
| Make | Type | Year | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| AC | Cobra | 1965–1967 |  UK/US |
| Alfa Romeo | Giulietta Sprint Coupé | 1954–1968 |  Italy |
| Audi | Quattro | 1980–1991 |  Germany |
| Austin | Seven | 1922–1939 | UK |
| BMW | BMW 328 | 1936–1940 | Germany |
| Bugatti | T35 | 1926–1930 |  France |
| Chevrolet | Corvette Stingray | 1963–1967 |  US |
| Citroën | Traction Avant | 1934–1957 | France |
| Citroën | 2CV | 1948–1990 | France |
| Citroën | DS19 | 1955–1975 | France |
| Ferrari | 250 GT SWB Berlinetta | 1959–1962 | Italy |
| Fiat | 500 Topolino | 1936–1948 | Italy |
| Ford | Model T | 1908–1927 | US |
| Ford | Mustang | 1964–1968 | US |
| Jaguar | XK120 | 1948–1954 | UK |
| Jaguar | E-Type | 1961–1975 | UK |
| Land Rover | Range Rover | 1970–present | UK |
| Mercedes-Benz | S/SS/SSK | 1927–1932 | Germany |
| Mercedes-Benz | 300 SL Coupé | 1954–1957 | Germany |
| Morris/Austin | Mini | 1959–2000 | UK |
| NSU | Ro 80 | 1967–1976 | Germany |
| Porsche | 911 | 1964–present | Germany |
| Renault | Espace | 1984–present | France |
| Rolls-Royce | Silver Ghost | 1907–1925 | UK |
| Volkswagen | Beetle | 1938–2003 | Germany |
| Volkswagen | Golf | 1974–present | Germany |
| Willys | Jeep | 1941–1945 | US |
From the 26, the jury were asked to nominate five finalists which would go through to the last round of voting, using a points system. The final nominees were announced at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September, 1999. [11]
The jury each ranked the five cars in their preferred order, and the results were combined with a points system. The final results are: [12]
| Position | Car model | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ford Model T | 742 |
| 2 | Mini | 617 |
| 3 | Citroën DS | 567 |
| 4 | Volkswagen Beetle | 521 |
| 5 | Porsche 911 | 303 |
The Ford Pinto is a subcompact car that was manufactured and marketed by Ford Motor Company in North America from 1971 until 1980. The Pinto was the first subcompact vehicle produced by Ford in North America.
Think Global was a Norwegian electric car manufacturer located in Bærum, which manufactured cars under the TH!NK brand. Production of the Think City was stopped in March 2011 and the company filed for bankruptcy on June 22, 2011, for the fourth time in 20 years. The company was bought soon after by Electric Mobility Solutions AS and production ceased in August 2012 with no more announcements regarding future production. As of October 2010, a total of 2,500 units had been manufactured at Oslo-based TH!NK's production facility.
Car of the Year (COTY) is a common abbreviation for numerous automotive awards.
The European Car of the Year (ECOTY) award is an international Car of the Year award established in 1964 by a collective of automobile magazines from different countries in Europe. The current organising companies of the award are Auto (Italy), Autocar, Autopista (Spain), Autovisie (Netherlands), L'Automobile Magazine (France), Stern (Germany) and Vi Bilägare (Sweden).
The Mercury Milan is a mid-size car manufactured by Ford and marketed by its Mercury division of Ford Motor Company — as a rebadged variant of the Ford Fusion. Named after Milan, Italy, Mercury marketed the Milan for model years 2006-2011 in a single generation. The smaller of two model lines developed to replace the Mercury Sable, it indirectly succeeded the Mercury Mystique as the smallest Mercury sedan.
Gordon Miller Buehrig (B-yur-rig) was an American automobile designer.
The Mazda6 is a mid-size sedan produced by Mazda since 2002, replacing the long-produced Capella/626.
The Ford Piquette Avenue Plant is a former factory located within the Milwaukee Junction area of Detroit, Michigan, in the United States. Built in 1904, it was the second center of automobile production for the Ford Motor Company, after the Ford Mack Avenue Plant. At the Piquette Avenue Plant, the company created and first produced the Ford Model T, the car credited with initiating the mass use of automobiles in the United States. Prior to the Model T, several other car models were assembled at the factory. Early experiments using a moving assembly line to make cars were also conducted there. It was also the first factory where more than 100 cars were assembled in one day. While it was headquartered at the Piquette Avenue Plant, Ford Motor Company became the biggest U.S.-based automaker, and it would remain so until the mid-1920s. The factory was used by the company until 1910, when its car production activity was relocated to the new, larger Highland Park Ford Plant.
The Motor Trend Car of the Year (COTY) is an annual Car of the Year award given by Motor Trend magazine to recognize the best new or significantly refreshed car in a given model year.
Luc Donckerwolke is a Belgian automotive designer, president, and chief creative officer of the Hyundai Motor Group and the Genesis automotive brand. Prior to joining the Hyundai Motor Group, he was the design director at Volkswagen Group's Bentley, Lamborghini, Škoda, and Audi brands. In 2022, a jury panel of 102 journalists among 33 countries named Donckerwolke the "World Car Person of the Year" for significantly impacting the automotive industry.
The International Motor Show Germany or International Mobility Show Germany, in German known as the Internationale Automobil-Ausstellung, is one of the world's largest mobility trade fairs. It consists of two separate fairs, that subdivided in 1991. While the IAA Mobility displays passenger vehicles, motorcycles and bikes, the IAA Transportation specializes in commercial vehicles. Before the separation, the show was held solely at the Messe Frankfurt.
The Ford Everest is a mid-size SUV produced by Ford Motor Company since 2003. Developed and destined mainly for the Asia-Pacific region with production centered in Thailand, the first-generation Everest is based on the Mazda-based Ford Ranger pickup truck, while the following generations are based on the globally-marketed T6 Ranger. Unlike the Ranger which was paralleled with the Mazda B series or BT-50 until 2020, the Everest has no Mazda equivalent, as it was seen as unfitting for the brand.
The Kia Picanto is a city car that has been produced by the South Korean car manufacturer, Kia, since 2003. Other names of the car include Kia Morning in South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Chile, Kia EuroStar in Taiwan, Kia New Morning in Vietnam and the Naza Suria or Naza Picanto in Malaysia. The Picanto is primarily manufactured at the Donghee joint-venture plant in Seosan, South Korea, though some countries locally assemble complete knock-down versions of the car.
Walter Maria de Silva is an Italian car designer and former head of Volkswagen Group Design, until 2015. Since beginning his car design career in 1972 as trainee car designer for Fiat's Style Centre. De Silva has also worked as a designer at I.DE.A Institute, and as head of design for Alfa Romeo, SEAT and the 'Audi brand group'. He is presently President of the Design Studio Walter De Silva & Partners.
The Car Engineer of the Century was an international award given to the most influential car engineer of the twentieth century. The election process was overseen by the Global Automotive Elections Foundation.
The Car Designer of the Century was an international award given to the most influential car designer of the 20th century. The election process was overseen by the Global Automotive Elections Foundation.
The Hyundai i30 is a small family car manufactured by the South Korean manufacturer Hyundai Motor Company since 2006. The i30 shares its platform with the Kia Ceed, available as a three-door hatchback (2012–2017), five-door hatchback, five-door estate and five-door liftback (2017–present), with a choice of three petrol engines and two diesel engines, either with manual or automatic transmission.
The Peugeot Concours Design competition was a biennial competition run by the French car manufacturer Peugeot. For each competition, entrants had to submit their designs for a car. A model of the winning design was built by the Peugeot Styling Centre and unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show. The last competition took place in 2008.
Subaru is the automobile manufacturing division of Japanese transportation conglomerate Subaru Corporation, the twenty-first largest automaker by production worldwide in 2017.
South Africa is traditionally the leader in Africa of the automotive industry and now produces more than half a million automobiles annually of all types. While domestic development of trucks and military vehicles exists, cars built under license of foreign brands are the mainstay.