BMW Turbos Shine in 2008 ‘Engine Oscars’
The Bavarian carmaker’s six awards include the top prize.
By Marc Lachapelle
In this year’s “Engine Oscars,” BMW repeated its Engine of the Year title and took the Best New Engine award. The Green Engine of the Year title went to the Toyota Prius, while Porsche took the Performance Engine award with its 911 Turbo. Now in their 10th year, the International Engine of the Year (IEOTY) awards are selected in two voting rounds by a jury of 65 automotive journalists from 32 different countries. MSN Autos has been represented on the jury by this writer since 2002.
Turbo Engines Dominate
With rising fuel prices and ever-stricter emissions standards, forced induction engines — mostly turbocharged — won seven of the 12 IEOTY awards this year. The Best New Engine award went to BMW’s new 2.0-liter twin-turbocharged four-cylinder diesel, which produces 204 horsepower and yet returns a combined 45 mpg (European rating). It won by the solid count of 257 points over the 218 earned by yet another new BMW powerplant, the new M3’s 4.0-liter V8.
Not available in the U.S., Volkswagen’s 1.4-liter TSI Twincharger (both turbocharged and supercharged), was last year’s Best New Engine and this year became a repeat winner in the 1.0- to 1.4-liter category. The 3.6-liter six-cylinder “boxer” engine that powers Porsche’s 911 Turbo and GT2 models earned its award with the help of twin variable-geometry turbochargers.
Some Close Votes
Toyota’s 1.5-liter Hybrid Synergy Drive powertrain from the Prius won the new Green Engine of the Year award, after four straight wins of the Best Fuel Economy prize which this award supersedes. The second generation of Toyota’s pioneering hybrid-electric powerplant won the trophy by a mere 3 points (269 to 266) over the 2.0-liter diesel engine (with stop-start technology) that powered the BMW 123d to the 2008 World Green Car of the Year award.
The margin of victory was only two points in the 1.8- to 2.0-liter class. Won by the ubiquitous, turbocharged and direct-injected 2.0-liter four-cylinder unit that powers no fewer than 10 different Audi and Volkswagen models, this engine’s output ranges from 170 to 272 horsepower. Second at the line was the twin-turbocharged 2.0-liter BMW diesel that powers the new 123d, and was nonetheless voted Best New Engine for 2008.
The closest finish of all saw Subaru snatch the trophy back from BMW in the 2.0- to 2.5-liter class by a single point. The turbocharged 2.5-liter four-cylinder “boxer” engine that powers various Impreza and Forester models had won Subaru its first-ever IEOTY award in 2006. This year it bested the classic, naturally aspirated 2.5-liter BMW inline six-cylinder engine in the Z4 and X3.
Performance Still Factors
The 3.0-liter twin-turbo’s crowning as International Engine of the Year was BMW’s second repeat win in four years. BMW’s V10 won its fourth straight award in the Above-4.0-liter category, edging out the Mercedes-Benz 6.2-liter V8 and Ferrari’s 6.0-liter V12. In doing so, BMW’s V10 became the most successful engine since the IEOTY awards were created in 1999. With nine individual trophies in four years, it overtook the automaker’s own 3.2-liter inline-six from the previous-generation M3, winner of eight awards from 2001 to 2006.
Though performance is still on the minds of voting members, it’s now on an equal footing with fuel economy and low emissions. Fuel prices and environmental concerns are accelerating progress in engine technology that makes it possible to reconcile these apparent extremes.
International Engine of the Year
BMW 3.0-liter twin-turbo (135, 335, X6)
Best New Engine
BMW 2.0-liter diesel twin-turbo (123d – not imported, yet)
Green Engine of the Year
Toyota 1.5-liter Hybrid Synergy Drive (Prius)
Best Performance Engine
Porsche 3.6-liter turbo (911 Turbo, 911 GT2)
Best Above 4.0 liters
BMW 5.0-liter V10 (M5, M6)
Best 3.0 to 4.0 liters
BMW 4.0-liter V8 (M3)
Best 2.5 to 3.0 liters
BMW 3.0-liter twin-turbo (135, 335, X6)
Best 2.0 to 2.5 liters
Subaru 2.5-liter turbo (Forester, Impreza, Outback, Legacy)
Best 1.8 to 2.0 liters
Audi/Volkswagen 2.0-liter turbo (Audi A3, A4 Cabrio, A6 and TT; Volkswagen Eos, Jetta and Golf GTi)
Best 1.4 to 1.8 liters
BMW-PSA 1.6-liter Turbo (MINI Cooper S and Clubman)
Best 1.0 to 1.4 liters
Volkswagen 1.4-liter TSI Twincharger (Volkswagen Golf, Touran, Tiguan, Jetta — all European models)
Best under 1.0 liter
Toyota 1.0-liter (Toyota Aygo/Yaris, Peugeot 107, Citroën C1, Subaru Justy — none imported to the U.S.)
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