As our regular readers already know from Friday’s leak (see here), Fiat’s retro-look 500 has been elected Car of the Year 2008 with 385 votes, ahead of the Mazda 2 (325 votes) and the Ford Mondeo (202). According to the official announcement that was released this morning, Fiat distinguished itself by obtaining votes from most members of the jury: 57 out of 58 included it in their short-list, and 33 made it top in their personal rankings. The award ceremony for Car of the Year 2008, organised by the German magazine Stern, will take place in Berlin on 28 January 2008. -Continued after the jump

This is the second time – the first was the Fiat Panda in 2004 – that an A-segment model has won the prestigious award. Interestingly, the Fiat Group has increased its wins to twelve: the Fiat 124 (1967), Fiat 128 (1970), Fiat 127 (1972), Lancia Delta (1980), Fiat Uno (1984), Fiat Tipo (1989), Fiat Punto (1995), Fiat Bravo/Brava (1996), Alfa 156 (1998), Alfa 147 (2001), Fiat Panda (2004) and the Fiat 500 (2008).

Model – Points

Fiat 500 - 385
Mazda2 - 325
Ford Mondeo - 202
Kia Cee’d - 166
Nissan Qashqai - 147
Mercedes C-Klasse - 128
Peugeot 308 - 97