The awards night saw a variety of cars and motorcycles grace the podium. Among them were the Jaguar F-Type R Coupe, the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, Lamborghini Huracan, the Indian Chief Vintage and the Suzuki Gixxer.

Sticking to tradition, the winners this year were selected by the magazine's writers and road-testers who live with the cars through the year and subject them to a variety of situations and environments. This is in sharp contrast to the usual procedure prevalent in automotive awards circles, of inviting test riders and drives to drive and ride chosen cars and motorcycles for a day before arriving at a decision.

"This is the TopGear style of working. It's not just about performance on the track, a car should also perform in real world situations. It helps us home in on the most deserving cars and bikes, and be absolutely sure of our choices," said Girish Karkera.

Apart from high performance machines, the year's awardees also included robust, practical machines such as the Honda Mobilio, the Hyundai Elite i20 and the Honda Activa 125. According to Tarun Rai, choosing the most deserving car or bike for these categories was not an easy job because of the sheer number of options available.

"There are a number of good cars and motorcycles in the Indian market today, and it is a sign that the market has matured." The awardees also included the Force Gurkha RFC and the Polaris RZR900. These two machines won two very TopGear awards: the former was the Monster of the Year, and the latter the Boys' Toy of the Year.

And it wasn't just about the machines. TopGear also awarded the men who left a massive impact in the world of automobiles. These included Mercedes-Benz India CEO, Eberhard Kern, for charting the resurgence of the luxury brand in India and CS Santhosh for becoming the first Indian ever to successfully compete in the legendary Dakar Rally. They were named as TopGear's Men of the Year.

(Complete Winners's list on the next page)