Tiny triple wins engine gong for Ford
BY MIKE COSTELLO | 14th Jun 2012
The win marks the first time the Blue Oval has taken out the top gong in the 13-year history of the awards, and is the second year in a row that a tiny-capacity engine has won the title after Fiat’s 875cc TwinAir two-cylinder topped the tables last year.
The EcoBoost three-cylinder also took out the Best New Engine and Best Engine Under 1.0-litre categories, based on votes cast by 76 journalists from 35 countries – including Australia – and presented against the backdrop of the Engine Expo trade fair in Stuttgart, Germany.
Co-chairman of the International Engine of the Year awards Dean Slavnich praised the EcoBoost engine for its power, response and real-world fuel consumption.
“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 IC (internal combustion) engine,” he said.
The EcoBoost’s final score of 401 points was highest ever achieved, and came courtesy of a “crushing points victory” among the European judges.
The remaining nine categories were shared between a quartet of other manufacturers, with BMW snagging four awards, Ferrari and the Volkswagen Group two apiece and General Motors one.
The Blue Oval premiered the innovative 999cc powertrain – which has a block as small as a piece of A4 paper – in the Focus range across Europe earlier this year, and will add it to the B-Max and C-Max people-movers inside six months.
The engine will appear in Australia in the sub-$25,000 Fiesta-based EcoSport mini-SUV due towards the end of next year, with outputs of 88kW and 170Nm and fuel consumption of around 5.8 litres per 100km.
Ford Australia brand communications manager Neil McDonald told GoAuto this morning that the company had made no moves as yet to add it to other models such as the Focus or Fiesta, but would take it on a “case by case” basis.
In its first full month on sale, the 1.0-litre accounted for nearly a quarter of total Focus orders across 19 key European markets. Ford projects that annual production of the 999cc engine will top 300,000 units by 2015.
While the top gong and the New Engine categories were taken out by Ford, arch-rival General Motors won the Green Engine award for the 1.4-litre range-extender used in the Chevrolet Volt and Opel Ampera.
As we have reported, the petrol-electric Volt will arrive on Australian shores later this year wearing Holden badges priced from around $60,000.
Ford also edged out defending overall champion Fiat in the ‘Sub 1.0-litre’ category with its 999cc EcoBoost engine taking honours from the 875cc TwinAir unit.
The Fiat Group saved some face with the screaming 4.5-litre direct-injected V8 from the Ferrari California and 458 Italia taking out the Performance Engine and Above 4.0-litre titles for the second year running, beating out a host of newer rivals from the likes of McLaren and Porsche.
BMW took home a swag of four awards to Munich, defending its title for best engine in the 1.4-litre to 1.8-litre category with the 1.6-litre turbo petrol used across the entire Mini range and in a host of Peugeot and Citroen models.
The German company again took out the 1.8-litre to 2.0-litre category, only this time it was for the 2.0-litre TwinPower petrol engine used in the 1 Series, 3 Series, 5 Series, Z4 and X1 rather than the diesel unit that won in 2011.
The twin-turbo six-cylinder petrol engine used in the BMW 1 Series M coupe and 335i won the ‘2.5-litre to 3.0-litre’ category’ for the second year running, while the 4.0-litre naturally-aspirated V8 used in the BMW M3 won its category for the fifth year on the trot.
Volkswagen’s 1.4-litre Twincharged petrol engine, which took out the International Engine of the Year award in both 2009 and 2010, again figured prominently by winning the 1.0-litre to 1.4-litre category.
That powertrain is used in a wide range of VW Group products in Australia, including the Polo, Golf and Tiguan, as well as the Skoda Fabia and Octavia and Audi A1.
The Wolfsburg marque again won the 2.0-litre to 2.5-litre category courtesy of the 2.5-litre turbocharged five-cylinder unit used in the Audi TTRS and RS3 performance models.
2012 International Engine of the Year Awards:
International Engine of the Year:Ford 999cc three-cylinder turbo (Ford Focus) Best New Engine:
Ford 999cc three-cylinder turbo (Ford Focus) Best Green Engine:
GM 1.4-litre range extender (Chevrolet/Holden Volt, Opel Ampera) Performance Engine:
Ferrari 4.5-litre V8 (Ferrari 458 Italia, 458 Spider) Sub 1.0-litre:
Ford 999cc three-cylinder turbo (Ford Focus) 1.0-litre to 1.4-litre:
Volkswagen 1.4-litre turbocharged/supercharged four-cylinder (VW Polo, Beetle, Golf, Golf Plus, Golf Cabriolet, Scirocco, Eos, Jetta, Tiguan, Sharan, Touran/Cross Touran, Passat CNG, Touran/Cross Touran CNG, Audi A1, Audi A3, SEAT Ibiza FR, Alhambra, Cupra, Škoda Fabia RS) 1.4-litre to 1.8-litre:
BMW-PSA 1.6-litre turbo four-cylinder (Mini Cooper S, Clubman Cooper S, Countryman Cooper S, Coupé/Roadster Cooper S, Mini Cooper Works, Clubman Cooper Works, Coupé/Roadster Cooper Works, Peugeot 207, 207cc, 208, 308, 308cc, 3008, 508, 5008, 308 GTI, RCZ, Citroën DS3, C4 Picasso/Grand Picasso, C5, DS5, DS5, DS3 Racing, DS4, DS4 Racing) 1.8-litre to 2.0-litre:
BMW 2.0-litre twin-turbo four-cylinder (BMW 125i, 320i, 328i, 520i, Z4 20i, Z4 s Drive 28i, X1 20i, X3 20i, X1 28i) 2.0-litre to 2.5-litre:
Audi 2.5-litre five-cylinder turbo (Audi TT RS, Audi RS3) 2.5-litre to 3.0-litre:
BMW 3.0-litre twin-turbo six-cylinder petrol (BMW 1-Series M Coupe, BMW 335is, BMW Z4 35is) 3.0-litre to 4.0-litre:
BMW 4.0-litre V8 (BMW M3) Above 4.0-litre:
Ferrari 4.5-litre V8 (Ferrari 458 Italia, Ferrari 458 Spider)
