Twin-turbo triumph at “Engine Oscars”

BMW’s 3-litre twin turbo has been crowned International Engine of the Year 2007 at the ninth annual International Engine of the Year Awards, which were presented at Engine Expo in Stuttgart, Germany.

BMW won additional International Engine of the Year Awards for its 2.5-litre inline six and 5-litre V10, but the Munich manufacturer was most delighted with the success of the 3-litre twin turbo, which also dominated the Best New Engine of 2007 category. Peter Langen, BMW’s director of powertrain, commented: “This is a tremendous achievement and important recognition of the lengths our engineers have gone to in order to ensure the success of our turbocharged petrol engines. We are proud to once again be honoured as the manufacturer of the International Engine of the Year.”

Elsewhere in the prestigious Awards, which are independently judged by 62 motoring journalists from 30 countries, Volkswagen’s 1.4-litre turbocharged and supercharged TSI unit triumphed for a second year in the 1-litre to 1.4-litre class, with its larger sibling, the 2-litre turbo developed by Audi and housed in the Golf GTi and Audi A3, topping the 1.8-litre to 2-litre category. Toyota meanwhile saw its 1.5-litre hybrid that powers the Prius named Best Fuel Economy engine and its 1-litre 3-cylinder from the Aygo and Yaris take the honours in the Sub 1-litre category.

Some of the loudest cheers were for Porsche, who finally won an International Engine of the Year Award trophy. Its 3.6-litre turbo engine in the 911 Turbo was voted the best 3 litre to 4-litre engine in production today.

International Engine of the Year Awards 2007: Winners

Best New Engine of 2007
BMW 3-litre Twin-Turbo (335i)

Best Fuel Economy
Toyota 1.5-litre Hybrid Synergy Drive (Prius)

Best Performance Engine
BMW 5-litre V10 (M5, M6)

Sub 1-litre
Toyota 1-litre (Aygo, Yaris, Peugeot 107, Citroën C1)

1-litre to 1.4-litre
Volkswagen 1.4-litre TSI Twincharger (Golf, Touran, Jetta)

1.4-litre to 1.8-litre
BMW-PSA 1.6-litre Turbo (MINI, Peugeot 207)

1.8-litre to 2-litre
Volkswagen 2-litre Turbo (Golf, Audi A3, A6, SEAT Leon, Skoda Octavia)

2-litre to 2.5-litre
BMW 2.5-litre (325, 525, X3, Z4)

2.5-litre to 3-litre
BMW 3-litre Twin-Turbo (335i)

3-litre to 4-litre
Porsche 3.6-litre Turbo (911)

Above 4-litre
BMW 5-litre V10 (M5, M6)

And…

International Engine of the Year 2007
BMW 3-litre Twin-Turbo (335i)