2013 World Car of the Year finalists announced

The top finalists for the World Car of the Year (WCOTY), World Performance Car, World Green Car and World Car Design of the Year awards were announced at the 2013 Geneva motor show.

For the WCOTY, 42 new cars were chosen from across the world as the initial entries, of which 10 were shortlisted. And at the Geneva show, World Car Awards co-chair Peter Lyon said, "In the voting for this year's WCOTY award, we saw a closely fought race which resulted in not three but four finalists."

The finalists are Mercedes-Benz A-class, Porsche Boxster/Cayman (essentially convertible and coupé versions of the same car), Scion FR-S/Subaru BRZ/Toyota 86/GT86 (different names for the same car) and the Volkswagen Golf.

This is the second consecutive year that Volkswagen is in the top three. The Up! was the 2012 World Car of the Year.

For the World Performance Car award, the finalists are the Ferrari F12 Berlinetta, the Porsche Boxster/Cayman and the Scion FR-S/Subaru BRZ/Toyota 86/GT86.

While Porsche, with its 911, had emerged the winner in the category last year, Ferrari's 458 Italia won the 2011 World Performace Car award.

The finalists for the World Green Car award are the Renault Zoe, the Tesla Model S and the Volvo V60 Plug-in Hybrid. Five green experts were appointed by the World Car Steering Committee to extensively review all documentation and specs associated with each candidate.

And finally, the top contenders for the World Car Design of the Year award are the Aston Martin Vanquish, the Jaguar F-Type and the Mazda6. Aston Martin won this award in 2011 with its Rapide saloon.

The winners across all categories of the World Car of the Year awards 2013 will be announced on March 28, at the New York motor show.