June 14: The results of the 2012 International Engine of the Year Awards were been announced at Engine Expo in Stuttgart, Germany yesterday. The event, one of the annual highlights of the automotive industry calendar, saw a total of 12 awards given to those manufacturers that have been judged to have achieved excellence in powertrain engineering.
The global jury, consisting of 76 respected and popular motoring journalists from around the world, including Hormazd Sorabjee, editor, Autocar India, voted Ford’s excellent 999cc three-cylinder turbo ‘EcoBoost’ engine as the overall winner of the International Engine of the Year Award.
The International Engine of the Year judging panel of automotive journalists consider drivability, performance, economy, refinement and the successful application of advanced engine technology.
The Ford 1.0-litre EcoBoost engine (seen above with Alan Mulally, Ford CEO), has wrestled the award from last year’s similarly sub-1-litre winner, Fiat’s two-cylinder ‘Twin Air’unit. It is clear the judges continue to be impressed by some of the industry’s smallest engines. Dean Slavnich, editor of Engine Technology International and co-chairman of the International Engine of the Year Awards, says: “This was a dominant win by the Ford engine and it is important to remember that the overall engine of the year award is not linked to engine capacity or any other criteria beyond the excellence of its engineering and the degree to which it delivers its capabilities in a vehicle and within the broader marketplace. That the small capacity engines continue to impress the most in overall terms, even against the larger, higher performance engines, says a great deal about how the automotive industry has developed in recent years.”
The Ford engine not only bagged the prestigious overall International Engine of the Year title but it was also the victorious engine in both the ‘Best New Engine’ and the ‘Sub 1-litre’categories”. However, despite its excellent ‘green’ credentials, it was GM’s ‘Range Extender’, the 1.4-litre internal combustion engine that sits within the 2012 European Car of the Year, the Chevrolet Volt, which proved to be victorious.
Graham Johnson, co-chairman of the Awards and managing director of organising company UKIP Media & Events, commented: “Pure battery EVs have never been a real-world, viable alternative to the internal combustion engine due to their lack of range and poor cold-weather performance, but GM’s range extender concept solves both issues and thus is a genuine blueprint for the future.”
In the last of the non-capacity specific classes, Ferrari once again reigned victorious with its 570bhp, 4.5-litre V8 engine as featured in the 458 Italia. The engine took both ‘Best Performance Engine’ and ‘Above 4-litre’category trophies for the second successive year.
As far as the remaining capacity award categories were concerned, German engineering was completely dominant. BMW bagged four category wins, including the ‘3-litre to 4-litre’category for its 4-litre V8 found in the M3; the ‘2.5-litre to 3-litre’ category for its 3-litre bi-turbo six-cylinder petrol engine, found in the 1-Series M coupe, 335is and Z4 35is; the ‘1.8-litre to 2-litre’ category for its 2-litre twin turbo four-cylinder petrol engine found across its range; and in the ‘1.4-litre to 1.8-litre’ category for its 1.6-litre four-cylinder turbo engine co-developed with PSA Peugeot Citroën, which was the co-recipient of the same Award.
The VW/Audi Group also took home some trophies. Audi scooped the 2-litre to 2.5-litre category for its 2.5-litre five-cylinder turbo engine found in the Audi TT RS and RS3 Sportback, while Volkswagen’s much-admired 1.4-litre TSI Twincharger engine, once again defended its crown in the ‘1-litre to 1.4-litre’ category.
CATEGORY WINNERS