BMW i8 wins International Engine of the Year

BMW’s design ended the three-year reign of Ford’s runner-up 1.0-litre EcoBoost three-cylinder — seen in Australia in the Ford EcoSport SUV. Rounding out the podium was PSA’s 1.2-litre turbo three-cylinder petrol used here in cars such as the Peugeot 308.

It means that, interestingly, a trio of three-pots topped the table this year. A sign of the times, no doubt. More interestingly, across all 11 categories, not one diesel took out top spot in its class.

Judges praised the BMW i8’s “amazing green credentials”, notably its 2.1L//100km and 49g/km CO2 figures, and its “supercar-like performance”. The 1.5 turbo directs 170kW to the rear axle, and is paired with a 97kW electric motor sending torque to the front.

Together they produce an impressive 266kW of power and 570Nm of torque, sending the Batman-esque coupe from 0-100km/h in 4.5 seconds. Read all about the BMW i8 here.

The International Engine of the Year Awards are broken up into 11 categories. The judging panels consists of 65 industry experts from a range of countries including Australia. The winners of each category are as follows:

Sub 1.0-litre

Ford’s 999cc EcoBoost, used in the EcoSport and Fiesta, along others.

1.0-litre to 1.4-litre

PSA 1.2 turbo three-cylinder, used in the Peugeot 208 and 308, and Citroen C4 Cactus among others.

1.4-litre to 1.8-litre

BMW 1.5 PHEV from the i8

1.8-litre to 2.0-litre

Mercedes-AMG 2.0 turbo, used on the A45 AMG, CLA45 AMG and GLA45 AMG

2.0-litre to 2.5-litre

Audi 2.5 five-cylinder turbo, used in the RS3 and RSQ3

2.5-litre to 3.0-litre

BMW 3.0-litre twin-turbo six, used in the M3 and M4 twins

3.0-litre to 4.0-litre

McLaren 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8, used in the 650S and 675LT

Above 4.0-litre

Ferrari 4.5-litre V8, used in the 458 Italia and Speciale

Green Engine

Tesla’s full-electric powertrain from the Model S (not the i8, bizarrely)

New Engine

BMW 1.5 PHEV from the i8

Performance Engine

Ferrari 4.5-litre V8, used in the 458 Italia and Speciale