SURREY, ENGLAND - The winners of the Vehicle Dynamics International Awards have today been announced, with Porsche scooping the prestigious Car of the Year Award, and Andreas Pröbstle pronounced as Dynamicist of the Year for his work on the Panamera. Furthermore, BWI Group secured Innovation of the Year for its work in conjunction with Porsche on the Magneto Rheological Powertrain Mount System.

Also worthy of particular note is Audi, who scooped the highly prized award for Dynamics team of the Year, following the development of several new Audis that feature outstandingly good chassis engineering. 

"As ever, competition for the overall honours is very tough", say Graham Heeps, Editor of Vehicle Dynamics International magazine. "The bar is raised every year, and while Porsche has performed particularly strongly this year, all the category winners have achieved an outstanding level of engineering excellence."

Dr. Michael Steiner, director of the Panamera product line at Porsche, said of the Award for Car of the Year: "Performance, dynamics and efficiency are the cornerstones of Porsche and the Panamera is a completely new and unique approach to the Gran Turismo segment. Some of the features and technologies are world-first achievements and we are delighted that the new Porsche Panamera has been awarded."

Audi's Award for Dynamics Team of the Year, was warmly received by the German manufacturer. "The Audi Vehicle Dynamics Team is proud to receive this award, especially since the jury is a truly international one", says Andreas Woehler, head of development for driving dynamics and ride comfort at Audi. "It seems to have paid off that we have focused our development not only on high-speed driving on the German Autobahn, but also concentrated our efforts on tuning suspensions that give our vehicles an optimum balance between ride and handling for markets with less preferable road conditions."

Other Category award winners include Anthony Best Dynamics' 'Driverless test system', which won Development Tool of the Year, and ZF which was rewarded with the accolade of Supplier of the Year.

VDI magazine has a worldwide reputation as the only international publication entirely focused on the latest news, technologies and developments relating to all aspects of suspension and chassis engineering.  All areas of this specialist engineering sector are covered in detail, from stability and traction control, to steering, braking, ride and handling. Visit the Web site at www.vehicledynamicsinternational.com