International Engine Awards
BMW has swept the International Engine of the Year Awards, with its 3.0-litre twin turbo in-line six-cylinder winning the International Engine of the Year award for the second time running.
The company also won best new engine of the year award with its 2.0-litre diesel twin turbo, and its 5.0-litre V10 winning the best engine above 4.0 litres category.
The V10 is the most awarded engine in the Awards’ history, winning nine trophies in four years, including International Engine of the Year in 2005 and 2006.
But the Awards weren’t a complete BMW triumph. Porsche grabbed the gong for Best Performance Engine with its 3.6-litre turbo horizontally-opposed six-cylinder, which pipped BMW’s V10 and the 4.0-litre V8 from the M3, along with Ferrari’s 6.0-litre V12 from the 599 GTB.
Toyota’s Prius drivetrain won the award for Best Green Engine, a new category for the Engine Awards, which replaced the Best Fuel Economy category. This is the eighth trophy in five years that Toyota has won with Prius’ petrol-electric motor.
The Awards are judged by 65 motoring journalists from 32 countries, including three from Australia.
What do you think of the Awards? Did the judges get it right, or should the International Engine of the Year award itself only be given to a new powerplant? Either way, BMW would still have won.
Joshua Gliddon