Ford’s 1.0-litre EcoBoost engine has been voted the 2014 International Engine of the Year, winning the award for the third consecutive year. A panel of 82 automotive journalists from 35 countries – including Hormazd Sorabjee, editor of Autocar India – also named the engine ‘Best Engine Under 1.0-litre’ again for the third year in a row, at the Engine Expo 2014 in Stuttgart, Germany.

The award-winning engine fought off competition from premium brands and supercar contenders to win the award for its driveability, performance, economy, refinement and technology. The battle for top spot for fiercely contested, with less than 99 points separating the top four engines.

“To deliver the complete package of eye-popping fuel economy, surprising performance and real refinement, we knew this little 1.0-litre engine would have to be a game-changer,” said Bob Fascetti, VP, Ford Powertrain Engineering. “Through our One Ford approach to development, the EcoBoost continues to set the benchmark for power combined with fuel efficiency from a petrol engine.”

“This year’s competition was the fiercest yet, but the 1.0-litre EcoBoost continues to stand out for all the right reasons – great refinement, surprising flexibility and excellent efficiency,” said Dean Slavnich, co-chairman, 16th International Engine of the Year awards and editor, Engine Technology International magazine. “The 1.0-litre EcoBoost engine is one of the finest examples of powertrain engineering.”

Ford vehicles equipped with the 1.0-litre EcoBoost engine are now available in 72 countries worldwide, including India. More than 200 engineers and designers from Ford R&D centres in Aachen and Merkenich in Germany, and Dagenham and Dunton in the UK spent 5 million-plus hours developing the engine.

The engine’s compact, low-inertia turbocharger spins at up to 248,000rpm – more than 4,000 times per second and almost twice the maximum rpm of the turbochargers powering 2014 Formula 1 race car engines. With an engine block small enough to fit in the overhead luggage compartment of an airplane, the 1.0-litre features a cylinder head with an integrated and cooled exhaust manifold that lowers exhaust temperatures for optimising the fuel-to-air ratio. An innovative flywheel and front pulley design delivers improved refinement compared with traditional three-cylinder engine designs.

Engine friction is reduced by specially coated pistons, low-tension piston rings, low-friction crank seals and a cam-belt-in-oil design. A variable-displacement oil pump tailors lubrication to demand and optimises oil pressure for improved fuel efficiency.

“The 1.0-litre EcoBoost was created as a radical, smaller-displacement engine to meet the biggest automotive challenge in the world – no-compromise refinement, performance and great fuel economy,” said Andrew Fraser, manager, Gasoline Calibration, Ford of Europe. “The secret to EcoBoost success is a range of innovative technologies that deliver big-car benefits from a small engine.”

Winning powertrains

This year, the winning engines blend high-end performance with advanced technologies that reduce emissions and substantially improve fuel economy. Forced induction designs came first place in several categories, although one naturally aspirated motor collected two awards. Judges also favoured powertrains that made inroads into weight reduction. Continuing a five-year trend, engines with small displacements again proved to be very popular, further highlighting the IC downsizing phenomenon sweeping the industry.

Reflecting the rise of powertrain electrification, there were more all-electric products for judges to assess in the Green Engine category than ever before, with key innovations coming from BMW, Tesla and Renault.

One of the most important categories is the New Engine award, which represents the greatest powertrain development of the last 12 months. Here, there were a host of all-new BMW motors, including the i3 powertrain, as well as three-cylinder petrol and diesel units in the new Mini. But the Mercedes-AMG 2-litre turbo drove away with this award.