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Top Gear names BMW i8 Car of the Year, Corvette, Ferrari, Mercedes also win big

The lads at Top Gear have released their listing of the finest cars of the past year, handing the ultimate honor to BMW's revolutionary i8 plug-in-hybrid supercar. "The i8 is a milestone in the annals of automotive history and a glorious statement for an exciting and positive future. The i8 delivers - and then some," the British mag wrote. The i8, though, was far from the only hybridized car to take victories. James May and Richard Hammond both highlighted hybrids as their personal cars of the year, with May saluting the Ferrari LaFerrari and the Hamster, unsurprisingly, heaping praise on the Porsche 918 Spyder. Jeremy Clarkson, meanwhile, opted to shock many by selecting not only an American car as his best of 2014, but giving the honor to of all things, a Corvette. Clarkson wasn't the only person to honor the USA's iconic sports car, with the new, 650-horsepower Z06 variant being named TG's Muscle Car of the Year. Other big winners include Mercedes-Benz, which TG honored for S-Class Coupe (Luxury Car of the Year), the new AMG GT (Sports Car of the Year) and the not-for-US C-Class Estate (Family Car of the Year). The 458 Italia Speciale A snagged a second win for Ferrari. The best of the rest include the Citroen C4 Cactus, Renault Twingo, Volkswagen Golf R, Lamborghini Huracan and Audi TT. Take a look below for the celebratory press blast from BMW. The BMW i8 wins Top Gear Car of the Year The BMW i8 has been named as Top Gear magazine's global Car of the Year 2014. The plug-in hybrid performance vehicle beat off some stiff competition from a host of other premium and luxury manufacturers to win the overall award. The editorial team of Top Gear commended the BMW i8 for its breadth of abilities. Its 1.5-litre three-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine combined with an electric motor gives searing acceleration and driver enjoyment but all wrapped in a package that takes BMW's EfficientDynamics philosophy to the extreme courtesy of CO2 emissions less than 49g/km and a 135mpg combined cycle figure. Charlie Turner, Editor in Chief at Top Gear magazine, said: "The BMW is a milestone in the annals of automotive history and a glorious statement for an exciting and positive future. The i8 delivers – and then some. It's the kind of car we should celebrate, a beautiful vision of the future, delivered now.

Audi A7 getting nip and tuck

It's been less than two years since the Audi A7 first went on sale in the US, but European buyers have been able to enjoy the sleek and stylish hatchback for twice as long. As such, Audi is preparing to give its A7 a mild refresh with tweaked exterior styling, but we're also expecting some of the features found in the all-new 2015 Audi A8 to possibly trickle down to the A7.
From what we can tell in these spy shots, the A7 is getting a minor facelift that includes a restyled front fascia and new headlights, which will likely boast Audi's new Matrix LED system. At the rear of the car, similar changes have been made with a fascia that now gets integrated outlets and different taillights that have a Lamborghini-like display.
Not apparent in these images - but still a good bet for production - we'd expect to see the new A7 get some of Audi's updated engines or new driver assist technologies. No definite word as to when we'll be seeing the refreshed A7 in person, but considering how close to production ready as this car seems to be, our bet is on the upcoming Geneva Motor Show.

Audi and Mercedes both outsell BMW in January

There won't be any celebrations in Munich this month, as BMW was outsold by arch-nemeses Audi and Mercedes-Benz. The Bavarian company finished behind Audi in January, which took the top spot for the first time since June of last year, Bloomberg reports. Ingolstadt rode high on a 10-percent bump in sales, while Mercedes saw a larger 14 percent increase. BMW, meanwhile, only saw a modest 6.3-percent sales increase last month, thanks in large part to its struggles in China. The company's sales there increased at about half the rate of its chief competitors, with a 7.9-percent jump to Mercedes and Audi's roughly 15-percent increases. Perhaps more worrying for BMW, though, is that this could become something of a trend for the company. According to Bloomberg, issues with Chinese dealers who cancelled orders over sales targets and bonuses combined with what the publication calls aging models, could spell bad news for the German marque. "This looks like a pretty significant decline in growth compared to Mercedes and Audi," Bankhaus Metzler analyst Juergen Pieper told Bloomberg. "I think this will continue during the next few months." News Source: BloombergImage Credit: Matthias Schrader / AP Earnings/Financials Audi BMW Mercedes-Benz