Wheels Car of the Year 2016: Awards night video

Take a seat at the Australian Motoring Awards as the 2016 Wheels Car of the Year is revealed to industry figures and other guests.

MORE than 200 of the Australian car industry’s elite watched as the Mazda MX-5 roadster was crowned the 2016 Wheels Car of the Year on Wednesday.

The gala Crown Casino event, which attracted chief executives, marketing managers and even senior engineers from a number of the nation’s leading car brands, also incorporated presentations for Motor Performance Car of the Year (Porsche 911 GT3), 4X4 Australia 4x4 of the Year (Ford Everest Trend), and the WhichCar Style Awards (Alfa Romeo 4C).

It capped off months of planning, testing and analysis that made up the inaugural Australian Motoring Awards.

The event was hosted by TV personality and sports presenter Mark Beretta, and included an appearance from Porsche factory driver and reigning World Endurance Championship title-holder Mark Webber.

Mazda’s win in the 2016 Wheels Car of the Year was the third time the iconic MX-5 sportscar had earned Australia’s top motoring award for excellence.

The Mazda finished ahead of the new-generation Audi Q7 and the car described as Jaguar’s best effort yet, the BMW 3-Series fighting Jaguar XE, to snare the title.

Hit play on the video to see how it all unfolded.