By Gunnar Heinrich

Proud as Spiked punched over their retro 500 hatchback, Team Fiat are teaming with excitement over winning the elite "EuroCarBody 2007 award."

Not knowing about the award or why it's deemed "elite," I decided to learn more...

A group calling themselves "Automotive Circle International" draws a crowd of industry insiders to various forums to award prizes to cars that a panel of some 600 "outstanding experts on car body development, manufacturing, and assembly," deem worthy of their award.

This prize is usually awarded to European cars, though any manufacturer may enter the race.

Mercedes-Benz's new C-Class scored third place while Ford's Euro Mondeo won 5th after the Volvo V70.

"The experts were particularly impressed by the contribution provided by the innovative body design of the Fiat 500 to achieving 5 Euro NCAP stars and its high level rating (grade 11) in the 'Insurer Impact': a record that places the Fiat 500 at the very top of its segment for safety. An even more exceptional result considering that it has been achieved with an only 3.5-meter long vehicle," Fiat's press statement read.

Wonder if there might be room for Ford's Fusion in next year's contest...

[Sources: Fiat, Automotive Circle International, CarBodyDesign.com]