A jury of six regional automotive experts carefully picked the winners from 125 cars, judging on quality, innovation, engineering, style and relevance to the Middle East market.

The Lumina SS was praised by Shahzad Sheikh, Editor of CAR Middle East, for offering practicality, performance and value for money.

“The Chevrolet Lumina SS has a 6.0-Litre V8 Corvette engine under the bonnet. Need I say more? This all new-car from ‘down under’ is a fantastic reinterpretation of the cult Lumina SS.” Mr Sheikh said.

“The vehicle edged ahead of some fierce competition to deservedly take the ultimate sports saloon award. It perfectly demonstrates GM’s renewed commitment to giving us the cars we really want to drive.”

GM Holden first exported vehicles to the Middle East in 1998 and it has since become GM Holden’s largest export market. The first shipment of all-new generation export versions of VE Commodore and WM Statesman and Caprice were despatched in September 2006.

GM Holden Export Manager, Kristian Aquilina, said receiving the award for Best Sports Saloon was a fantastic achievement, especially when you take into consideration the high level of competition.

“The Middle East market boasts the best cars from all the highly regarded European, Asian and US brands, so it is particularly rewarding to be recognised there,” Mr Aquilina said.

"Careful consideration of global expectations and potential markets was always at the forefront of the design and engineering of VE Commodore and this award confirms that GM Holden is producing world class vehicles that can compete on the world stage".