Toyota GT86 crowned ‘Top Gear Magazine Car of the Year 2012’

The Toyota GT86 has been named Car of the Year in the eagerly anticipated Top Gear Magazine Awards 2012. Presenter and judge Jeremy Clarkson hailed it for allowing the driver to “revel in the sort of thrills normally only on offer to the super-rich.” And because, “There will come a moment when the traffic thins and there’s a nice bit of road ahead. At a time like this, a GT86 will make you happy.”

The 12 category award winners are published in full in a special Awards issue of Top Gear Magazine, on sale now, including the 2013 Top Gear Magazine supercar calendar. The Awards panel was made up of expert road testers from the magazine and the popular Top Gear television programme, and the judging process involved thousands of testing miles and “several hours of shouting.”

There is a double victory for Toyota as the GT86 has also been awarded Coupe of the Year in the same issue. Other excellent 2012 winners include the brilliant BMW M135i taking the coveted Sports Car of the Year award, the exotic Pagani Huayra claiming Hypercar of the Year and the fantastic McLaren12C Spider scooping Cabrio of the Year. Meanwhile at the other end of the price spectrum, the cheap and extremely cheerful Dacia Duster has been named Bargain of the Year and the Ford Focus ST Estate is Hot Hatch of the Year.

On the Pagani Huayra, Richard Hammond comments: “I want the Hypercar of the Year to bring all the magic, mystique and myth of a unicorn, to be the stuff of dreams and fantasy. It really can only be the Pagani Huayra.” On the McLaren12C Spider James May says, with typical restraint: “This is a good-time car and I want a good time. I get it.”

The Awards special also celebrates Top Gear’s 11 Men of the Year, with Sir Ranulph Fiennes lauded for planning a hike across the Antarctic in the middle of winter and Felix Baumgartner for generating more power than a Ferrari (yes, really) in his dive from the edge of space. Other winners include: champion bikeist Sir Chris Hoy, former racing driver and Paralympian Alessandro Zanardi and the late Sid Watkins for his incredible work as F1’s safety officer.

The final word is best left to Charlie Turner, Editor-in-chief: “While those at the top of the automotive food chain continue to chase huge power and unrelenting grip, our winner heads in the opposite direction. It’s a genuine shift in mentality, and a very worthy winner of the Top Gear Magazine Car of the Year.”

Top Gear Magazine Awards 2012: the winners

Car of the Year (and Jeremy Clarkson’s Car of the Year)
Toyota GT86

Coupe of the Year
Toyota GT86

Hypercar of the Year (and Richard Hammond’s Car of the Year):
Pagani Huayra

Cabrio of the Year (and James May’s Car of the Year):
McLaren 12C Spider

All the car you’ll ever need Car of the Year:
Volkswagen Golf

Family Car of the Year:
BMW 320d Touring

Supercar of The Year:
Ferrari F12

SUV of the Year:
Fiat Panda 4×4

Sports car of the Year:
BMW M135i

Bargain of the Year:
Dacia Duster

Hot Hatch of the Year:
Ford Focus ST Estate

Luxury Car of the Year:
Range Rover

Men of the Year

Sir Ranulph Fiennes
Felix Baumgartner
Stefano Domenicali
Sir Chris Hoy
Sid Watkins
Robert Kubica
Alessandro Zanardi
Ratan Tata
Ian Callum
Leena Gade
Martin Winterkorn
-Ends-

Notes to editors
BBC Top Gear Magazine (UK) has a circulation of 155,017 (ABC Jan-Jul 12), with a market share of 35.8%, it accounts for more than one in every three copies sold in the total core motoring market.
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