One of the most important aspects of a car is the thing that gets it to move, the powertrain, but not all of them are made equal. To identify the best of the best is precisely what the International Engine of the Year Awards is for, and if you’re curious about the winners, read on.
In total, there are 13 categories in the awards, with the latest addition being the Electric Powertrain category. Of course, the most coveted of them all is the International Engine of the Year category, which sees a returning winner for 2017 for back-to-back wins.
That honour belongs to Ferrari’s 3.9 litre biturbo V8 that is used in the 488 GTB and 488 Spider. The F154CB managed to score 251 points, which is just 36 points more than second-place finisher, the 3.0 litre turbocharged flat-six in the Porsche 911 Carrera (991 Series).
Unsurprisingly, the Ferrari motor also occupied the top spot in the Performance Engine category, this time edging out the 4.0 litre naturally-aspirated flat-six that is used in the Porsche 911 GT3 and 911 R, as well as Mercedes-AMG’s 4.0 litre biturbo V8.
This year also marked the end of winless streak for Honda, with the Japanese carmaker securing the New Engine award for its Honda’s Sport Hybrid Power Unit (3.5 litre twin-turbo V6 petrol-electric hybrid) in the second-generation NSX. Mercedes-Benz’s brand-new 2.0 litre turbodiesel four-pot in the W213 E-Class and the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio’s 2.9 litre twin-turbo V6 are also listed in this category.
Tesla’s full-electric powertrain won both the Green Engine and newly-created Electric Powertrain categories, finishing ahead of BMW’s 1.5 litre three-cylinder petrol-electric hybrid (i8) and the full-electric powertrain in the i3.
Moving on, we arrive at the capacity-specific categories, with Ferrari winning in the Above 4-Litre category with its 6.3 litre naturally-aspirated V12 in the F12 and F12 tdf. The 3-Litre to 4-Litre category saw the F154CB as the winner, ahead of contenders from Mercedes-AMG and Porsche.
Next is the 2.5-Litre to 3-Litre category, where the 3.0 litre turbocharged flat-six from Porsche managed to score significantly higher than BMW’s 3.0 litre twin-turbo straight-six (M3 and M4) and the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio’s powerplant.
Further down, the 2.5 litre turbocharged five-cylinder in the latest Audi RS3 and TT RS won the 2-Litre to 2.5-Litre category, while the Porsche 718’s 2.0 litre turbo four-cylinder trumped Mercedes-AMG’s 2.0 litre turbo (A45, CLA45, GLA45) to win in the 1.8-Litre to 2-Litre category.
BMW took home both first and second place in the 1.4-Litre to 1.8-Litre category with the i8’s 1.5 litre three-cylinder petrol-electric hybrid occupying the top spot ahead of the 1.5 litre turbo three-cylinder in the 1 Series, 2 Series, 3 Series, X1, Mini Cooper, Clubman Cooper, Clubman One and Countryman.
PSA Peugeot Citroen’s 1.2-litre turbo three-cylinder PureTech was the winner in the 1-Litre to 1.4-Litre category by a huge margin, and ending the list is Ford’s 1.0 litre EcoBoost win in the Sub 1-Litre category, with Volkswagen coming a very close second.
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There’s no replacement for displacement.
How come the Americans need almost 6 litres while the Europeans need less than 4 litres to get the same amount of hp and torque from their engines? They seem to be way behind in engine tech except for maybe Tesla.
Americans are using pushrod engines. The benefit of it is the engine weight less and is smaller than overhead cam engines (dohc or sohc).
The disadvantage is that they cannot rev as high as a high performance dohc engines.
I thought I saw the international engine of the year new 3.9 turbo just replace the 6.3 liter V12!!?? You must be kidding right?
Expecting the new V12 engine powering the new Ferrari 812 Superfast to win next year. That is a beast of an engine, and sounds like the old F1engines from decades ago.
The establishment in automobile.
btw, 4G15 still the best.
Too bad P1 and P2 did not enter or they would have easily won the jaguh kampung category.
There must be mistake somewhere. Our axia, which receive EEV certification from govt, and has been added vvt-i which increases output by 1hp and 1nm, should easily win this award. I demand explanation from paultan.
Fren. Dun compete with my Biza sales, yeah..
Next year i expect to see the upcoming Infiniti’s variable compression ratio petrol engine getting the award. Ferrari’s days will be numbered once the Camless engine from Koenigsegg is ready for mass production. Internal combustion engine still has alot to offer before reaching its peak of perfection.