Land Rover Defender scoops first prize as the TopGear.com Car of the Year at virtual ceremony.

Top Gear presenters Paddy McGuinness, Freddie Flintoff and Chris Harris have revealed their best cars of the year at the 2020 TopGear.com Awards, but their top picks were out manoeuvred by the gold wrapped Land Rover Defender which has scooped first prize as the Top Gear.com Car of the Year.

This year’s virtual ceremony, which premiered on https://www.youtube.com/topgear at 7pm 1^st December (and is available to watch now), unveiled the very best cars on the planet. While Freddie opted for the 30 year-old Jaguar XJ220 he drove at over 200mph on Top Gear earlier this year, Chris voted for the Porsche 911 Turbo S and Paddy’s typical leftfield choice went to Mr Nippy, the Guinness World Record setting all-electric ice cream van that he created for the latest Top Gear series.

Paddy said: “There’s only one that changes the game completely when it comes to electric cars.  Everything about it, the size of it, the performance, the handling, the looks you get on the road and its all-round capabilities.  It’s just an absolutely mind-blowing amazing car to drive.  And that car is Mr Nippy… It’s like a supercar in many ways – you look at it and know it’s completely impractical, but it just makes you smile.”

Commenting on his Jaguar XJ220 top choice, Freddie said: “I’m talking about the cars you had on your bedroom wall, and the XJ220 is definitely one of them. You know what?  If I was in a position where money was no object, I’d probably get two.”.

Chris Harris added: “I know a Porsche 911 Turbo S isn’t an everyman choice, given it cost the best part of £200,000 with some options, but the paradox of the 911 gets more and more interesting as the car gets older. Porsche has made a car that drives so purely and so easily, and still has all that space inside that you wouldn’t expect.” 

18 awards were given out on the night, voted for by the Top Gear team who have thousands of hours of driving under their belts, but the Land Rover Defender was the star of the show, picking up two awards for Unstoppable Force of the Year and for overall Car of the Year, and enjoying a bespoke gold wrap to celebrate its win.

Top Gear Magazine Editor Jack Rix said: “There are easier ways of getting across how highly we rate the new Land Rover Defender than turning it into an XXL gold bar, but none would look nearly as good on the cover of TopGear. It was an interesting phone call, asking Land Rover if they minded if we wrapped their new baby up like a burrito. Fortunately, Land Rover agreed with us that when you’ve pulled off something as brilliant as the new Defender, there’s always space to have a little fun.”

Full list of award winners

Freddie Flintoff’s car of the year: Jaguar XJ220

Paddy McGuinness’ car of the year: Mr Nippy

Performance car of the year + Chris Harris’ Car of the year: Porsche 911  Turbo S

Hot-hatch of the year: Toyota GR Yaris

Super-SUV of the year: Aston Martin DBX

City car of the year: Honda e

Luxury car of the year: Rolls Royce Ghost

Car we’re most looking forward to driving in 2021: BMW M3

Noise of the year: Ferrari 812 GTS

Eco-warrior of the year: Ferrari SF90

Game changer of the year: VW ID.3  

Crossover of the year: Ford Puma ST

Track weapon of the year: Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series

Manufacturer of the year: Ford 

Retro hero of the year: Volvo P1800 Cyan

Unstoppable force of the year + Car of the Year: Land Rover Defender

You can watch the TopGear.com Awards here https://www.youtube.com/topgear and pick up the December issue of Top Gear Magazine that’s out now.

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For more information, please contact: Emma.burch@bbc.com

NOTES TO EDITORS

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