Can BMW hold to the International Engine of the Year Award?

The results of the ninth International Engine of the Year Awards will be announced on 9 May 2007 at Engine Expo in Stuttgart, Germany – and last year’s champion, BMW, is hoping that its current crop of engines can fend off stiff competition from a number of bold new powerplants.

After dominating last year’s Awards, with the M5 V10 heart collecting the overall International Engine of the Year title for a second consecutive year, BMW will go head-to-head with the likes of Volkswagen’s 1.4-litre TSI that utilises both turbocharging and supercharging, Porsche’s 3.6-litre twin turbo powerhouse and Toyota’s economical, but extremely sprightly, 1-litre three-cylinder, which is said to be the lightest internal combustion engine on sale today.

Other contenders to the title this year include BMW’s 3-litre twin turbo-effort, which boasts technology in the shape of two variable turbochargers, direct injection and an all-aluminium crankcase. Also competing is VW/Audi’s 2-litre FSI Turbo engine that powers numerous models across the VW Group family.

The results of the International Engine of the Year Awards 2007 will be decided by a panel of 62 renowned automotive journalists from 30 countries, all of whom have extensive knowledge and experience of today’s modern car engines.