The engine small enough for carry-in luggage

FORD devised a bizzare publicity stunt to promote the imminent introduction of its 1.0-litre three-cylinder EcoBoost engine to the US market Fiesta from next year.

A Blue Oval staff member has been photographed packing the tiny petrol engine’s 22kg cast iron block into his carry-on luggage on the way to Los Angeles for next week’s LA motor show.

The images show the staffer removing the block from his carry-on bag at Detroit Metro airport and loading it into a separate plastic tub to be scanned, just as you’d do with a laptop computer.

The block has naturally been stripped of the other engine essentials, including the turbocharger.

Presumably this was to save weight and space, as well as sparing pristine shirts from getting a mean coat of engine oil.

It is understood Ford set up the stunt ahead of time with the US Transportation Security Administration, which does not normally allow photographs to be taken in the security line, and did not actually take it onto a plane.

The diminutive engine – which in June was named International Engine of the Year – will appear in the revised Fiesta at the LA show ahead of hitting US showrooms in 2013.

The EcoBoost engine will also be offered here in the new Fiesta, which is due to arrive in Australia in 2013. That car will be followed by the new EcoSport crossover.

The 1.0-litre engine is also available in the Focus small car in Europe, and will be added to the new-generation Mondeo set for launch next year, however three-cylinder versions of those are unlikely to come here.