German newspaper Bild am Sonntag has announced the six winners of its Golden Steering Wheel Award, a prize decided on by 25 select automotive experts from various countries. Seemingly the equivalent of a set of golden calipers, the Golden Steering Wheel prize is highly sought after by automakers and, if the translations we've read are correct, can be used the following year by each recipient in ads for the winning models. Below is the list of winners in each class.

MINI Cooper – Small Car
Volvo C30 – Compact Estate
Lexus IS – Luxury
Volkswagen Eos – Convertible
Mercedes CL – Coupe
Hymer B-Class – Recreational Vehicle

[Source: Bild am Sonntag]

Stuttgart, Nov 09, 2006

The “Golden Steering Wheel 2006”, presented by the German Sunday newspaper “Bild am Sonntag”, and one of the most coveted automotive honours in Europe, has been won by the new CL-Class. Almost a third of all readers of Germany’s largest-circulation Sunday paper voted for the CL-Class as the best new arrival in the coupé category, putting it in first place by a clear margin. The award was presented last night in Berlin to Dr. Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of Management of DaimlerChrysler AG and Head of the Mercedes Car Group.

The new Mercedes-Benz CL-Class came onto the market this autumn, and the award of the Golden Steering Wheel marks the culmination of a tradition of extraordinary Mercedes-Benz coupés that dates back more than 50 years. Just like its predecessors, the new CL-Class is the embodiment of automotive elegance and exclusiveness, combining as it does exceptional design and equipment levels with superior comfort, exemplary safety and pioneering technology, in a manner unrivalled by any other automotive manufacturer in the world. This leading-edge coupé is fitted as standard with the new PRE-SAFE® Brake, for example, which anticipates an impending collision and takes automatic action to brake the vehicle. Its comprehensive standard equipment package also includes further Mercedes innovations such as the ABC (Active Body Control) active suspension system, the Intelligent Light System and PRE-SAFE® anticipatory occupant protection.

Its range of powerful engines ensure that the new luxury coupé, described by ‘Bild am Sonntag’ as a “Titan among coupés“, is as much at home on country roads as on the motorway. The CL 500’s eight-cylinder engine produces 285 kW/388 hp, while the sophisticated 12-cylinder biturbo under the bonnet of the new CL 600 develops 380 kW/517 hp to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in just 4.6 seconds.

With 16 awards to its credit, Mercedes-Benz is one of the most successful automo-tive brands to compete for the “Golden Steering Wheel” award since its inception by ‘Bild am Sonntag’ in 1976. The new CL-Class follows hot on the heels of the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, which was awarded the “Golden Steering Wheel” last year as the best new arrival in the luxury class.

Copyright © 2006, DaimlerChrysler AG