Winner: Ford

Ford of Europe has become synonymous with dynamic excellence, so it’s perhaps no surprise to see the Blue Oval as the winner of Dynamics Team of the Year. But winning this award was not a formality for Ford, and ever-improving Audi pushed its rival all the way to the trophy, before finishing in the Highly Commended runner-up position. Nor should the remaining two nominees be forgotten: both Prodrive and Renault Sport have a deep-rooted commitment to vehicle dynamics excellence that shows up time after time in the companies’ products.

Ford’s Dynamics Team of the Year accolade is not restricted to engineers on one continent. Having established something of a powerbase in Europe, Ford has been sharing vehicle dynamics expertise and processes with its other divisions around the world. In Australia, for example, the FG Falcon is winning plaudits; EPS makes its Ford North America debut in the revised Fusion; and in 2010 US customers will receive the Fiesta. Not only is Fiesta (whose ride and handling team is pictured below) a great small car when size and energy efficiency are more important than ever, but its accessible dynamics ensure that customers in global markets from the USA to China will be able to save the planet with smiles on their faces.

The man at the head of Ford’s dynamics team, executive technical leader vehicle dynamics, Pim van der Jagt (inset), was delighted with the award: “I think that with the new Fiesta, Ford has proved once again its outstanding expertise in vehicle dynamics,” he said. “We are very happy to get such positive feedback from the media, not only for Fiesta but also for the new Ka. We are very proud of this award in particular because the jury consists of such a great number of international experts. I’m confident that our team will continue to do everything to maintain this high level of vehicle dynamics performance with our upcoming products.”