The prestigious International Engine Of The Year awards were held at the Engine Expo 2012 in Stuttgart, Germany. The annual event, which took place on June 13, has a jury populated by the world’s most respected and popular automotive journalists.
This year’s International Engine Of The Year award went to the Ford 999cc three-cylinder turbo EcoBoost engine, snatching the victory from last year’s winner, Fiat’s two-cylinder ‘twin-air’ unit. Ford didn’t stop there, as the 999cc three-cylinder turbo engine also swept the ‘Best New Engine’ and ‘Sub 1-litre’ category awards.
Ford’s little marvel, however, could not stop GM’s 1.4-litre internal combustion ‘Range Extender’ engine from bagging the ‘Green Engine award’, despite its environmentally friendly credentials.
Ferrari continued its stronghold on the ‘Best Performance Engine’ and ‘Above 4-litre’ category for 2 years running thanks to its 570bhp 4.8-litre V8 engine with its aural extravagance and numbing performance.
BMW went home with quite a bagful of awards, as its engines obliterated the competition in four different categories. It won the ‘3-litre to 4-litre’ category with its 4-litre V8 found in the M3; the ‘2.5-lire to 3-litre’ category with its 3-litre bi-turbo six-cylinder gasoline engine that does duty in the 1-series coupe, 335i and Z4 35i; the ‘1.8-litre to 2-litre’ category with its 2-litre twin-turbo four-cylinder gasoline engine and finally the ‘1.4-litre to 1.8-litre’ category with its 1.6-litre four-cylinder turbo engine that was co-developed with PSA Peugeot Citroen, which was a co-recipient of the same award.
Not one to be left behind, the Audi/VW group proved its mettle by winning the ‘2-litre to 2.5-litre’ category on behalf of Audi’s 2.5-litre five-cylinder turbo engine that works in the TT RS and RS3 Sportback.
VW bagged the ‘1-litre to 1.4-litre’ category award with its much loved 1.4-litre TSI twincharger engine.
The International Engine Of The Year ceremony saw a total of 12 different awards given out to manufacturers who have achieved excellence in the construction of their engines.