Little Ford engine in goodcompany
With just three cylinders and a plan profile that fits inside a sheet ofa4paper, Ford’s Ecoboost1.0-litre engine is the best car engine in the world, OBSERVESDAVEMOORE.
Though the overall winner of the 2012 International Engine of the Year awards is Ford and its 1.0-litre EcoBoost power unit, which achieved the highest score ever with 401 points, there were some other pretty interesting winners.
It is the first time Ford has won International Engine of the Year award in the 13-year history of the awards, though it has been a category winner on several occasions.
The Detroit car manufacturer’s small displacement petrol engine, which was designed in Britain and is built there, also received two other awards, with the Best New Engine and Best Engine Under 1.0-litres gongs.
Dean Slavnich, chairman of the International Engine of the Year awards and editor of Engine Technology International magazine, said: ‘‘This is a fitting victory for a truly remarkable engine. For a three-cylinder to power a vehicle like the Ford Focus with such ease proves that the future is very, very bright for the internal combustion engine.
‘‘Power, response and very good real-world fuel consumption figures are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to this engine and what it offers drivers today.
‘‘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.’’
Joe Bakaj, Ford global
The little engine that could: powertrain vice president, said: ‘‘We set the bar incredibly high when we started to design this engine. We wanted to deliver eyepopping fuel economy, surprising performance, quietness and refinement and all from a very small, three-cylinder engine.’’
British-based journalist John Simister said: ‘‘If downsizing is the way ahead, there is currently no better example than this. Same power as the naturally aspirated 1.6-litre engine it replaces, and much punchier to drive.’’
Christophe Congrega, of France’s LAutomobile Magazine, said: ‘‘With good torque at the very low end, this high-tech threecylinder turbo gives the driving performance of a small turbo diesel, but without noise and vibrations.’’
General Motors, with its 1.4-litre range-extender hybrid power unit which is fitted to the Chevrolet and Holden Volt and the Opel and Vauxhall Ampera models, picked up the title of Best Green Engine.
Graham Johnson, co-chairman of the awards and managing director of UKIP Media & Events, the company that organises the Engine Expo and the awards, said: ‘‘Pure battery EVs have never been a real-world, viable alternative to the internal combustion engine due to their lack of range and poor coldweather performance, but GM’s range extender concept solves both issues and thus is a genuine blueprint for the future.’’
In another non-capacity specific classes, Ferrari once again reigned victoriouswith its 570bhp, 4.5-litre V8 engine as featured in the 458 Italia.
With its awesome performance and divine soundtrack, the engine scooped both Best Performance Engine and Above 4-litre category trophies for the second successive year.
Winner of the Best Engine award in the 1.0-litre to 1.4-litre spot wasVWGroup’s 1.4-litre TSI, while the 1.4-litre to 1.8-litre winner was the joint-venture BMWGroup/PSA Peugeot Citroen 1.6-litre turbo four cylinder.
BMWhas always done well in the Engine of the Year awards and picked up three other accolades – this time on its own. It took the 1.8-litre to 2.0-litre category with its 2.0-litre twin-turbo petrol four which is fitted through theBMW lineup.
The Bavarian concern also took out the 2.5-litre to 3.0-litre segment for its 3.0-litre turbocharged inline petrol six found in the 1 SeriesMcoupe, 335is and Z4 35is. BMWrounded off its shelf of trophies with a 3.0-litre to 4.0-litre category win for its M3’s superb V8.
Audi took the 2.0-litre to 2.5-litre award with its TTRS’s and RS3’s 2.5-litre turbocharged transverse-mounted inline five.