BMW 1.5-litre petrol-electric hybrid wins 2015 Engine of the Year award

BMW’s 1.5-litre petrol-electric hybrid engine has been voted the 2015 International Engine of the Year, thus ending the consecutive three-year victory of Ford’s 999cc three-cylinder turbo EcoBoost engine. Furthermore, the 1.5-litre petrol-electric hybrid engine, that does duty in BMW’s celebrated plug-in hybrid, the i8, also won awards in the ‘Best New Engine’ and the ‘1.4-litre to 1.8-litre’ categories.

“This is a fitting victory for what is a remarkable powertrain. The i8 is a supercar of the future that’s available today. Progressive, emotive and environmentally responsible, here is a creation that proves the transport of tomorrow can be very, very exciting,” said Dean Slavnich, Co-chairman, International Engine of the Year Awards.

In what was a very closely contested fight, the BMW’s petrol-hybrid motor ended Ford’s 1.0 litre EcoBoost engine dominance by a slender 7-point margin. However, Ford did have something to cheer about. Its 999cc EcoBoost engine was adjudged the best engine in the 'Sub 1-litre' category for the fourth consecutive year.

In the '1.0 to 1.4-litre' category, the PSA Peugeot Citroën 1.2-litre three-cylinder turbo engine took home the award this year, displacing Volkswagen’s 1.4-litre TSI engine, which held the award in this category for a whopping nine consecutive times, until last year.

In the '1.8 to 2.0-litre' category, the Mercedes-AMG 2-litre turbo engine — also known as the world’s most powerful four-cylinder engine — powering the Mercedes A45 AMG, CLA 45 AMG and the GLA45 AMG, won the award for the second consecutive year.

Audi’s 2.5-litre TFSI engine was adjudged the winner in the '2.0 to 2.5-litre' category for the fifth time in a row.

In the '2.5 to 3.0-litre' category, BMW's 3-litre twin-turbo six cylinder that powers the automaker’s M3 and M4’s performance cars clinched the title. With this win, BMW has taken the lead in this category 10 times in the last 11 years and 14 times overall.

The McLaren’s 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8 powering the MP4-12C took top honours in the '3.0 to 4.0-litre' category while staving off stiff competition from Mercedes-AMG 4-litre biturbo V8 that runs the likes of Mercedes-AMG GT and C63 AMG among others, and also Porsche’s 3.8-litre boxer running the 911 Carrera S, 911 GTS, 911 GT3 and the Cayman GT4.

Finally, Ferrari’s 4.5-litre V8 was adjudged the best engine in the 'Above 4-litre' category as well as the 'Performance Engine of the Year'. The engine powering the 458 Italia and 458 Speciale won in this category four times in the last five years; a fitting goodbye to the naturally aspirated engine which
will now be replaced by the downsized, but more powerful twin-turbo motor that finds place in the 488 GTB.

The jury of the International Engine of the Year Awards held in Stuttgart, Germany, comprised a panel of 65 motoring journalists from 31 countries.