Ferrari V8 takes international engine crown

FERRARI has dominated the annual International Engine of the Year awards, with the 3.9-litre biturbo V8 used in the new 488 and California T beating out BMW's 1.5-litre petrol-electric hybrid powertrain used in its i8 supercar for the top International Engine of the Year gong.

The 3.9-litre donk also took first place in three other categories – 3-litre to 4-litre, New engine, and Performance engine of the year.

Under the hood of the new 448 GTB and Spider, the engine develops 492kW of power and 760Nm of torque, while the slightly detuned version in the California T convertible cranks out a still-formidable 415kW/755Nm.

With a total of 331 votes, it trumped BMW's i8 engine (278 votes) which won the overall prize at the 2015 event.

Third place with 267 votes was the new and controversial 3.0-litre turbocharged flat six-cylinder petrol engine in the updated Porsche 911 that replaced the outgoing naturally aspirated 3.4- to 3.8-litre boxer engines, representing the first time that Porsche has turbocharged the majority of its halo-car line-up. International Engine of the Year awards co-chairman Graham Johnson was quick to heap praise on the Maranello-built engine, citing it as one that will be remembered fondly in years to come.

“It’s a giant leap forward for turbocharged engines in terms of efficiency, performance and flexibility,” he said. “It truly is the best engine in production today and will forever be remembered as one of the all-time greats.”

The awards were split up into sub-categories related to size, along with categories for green, performance and new engines.

Ford's diminutive 1.0-litre EcoBoost engine took out the sub 1-litre category, continuing its dominance at the event.

It is the fifth year in a row that the tiny triple has won its category, and from 2012 to 2014 it was a three-peat winner in the overall category.

It beat out Volkswagen Group's 1.0-litre three-cylinder turbo, used in models such as the Audi A1, and internationally the Volkswagen Up and Polo.

The 1 to 1.4-litre category was won by PSA Group's 1.2-litre three-cylinder turbo, which powers such models as the Peugeot 208 and 308, and the Citroen C4 and C4 Cactus.

It trumped BMW's 1.2-litre turbo three-pot used in the Mini One.

The 1.4 to 1.8-litre category was won by the BMW i8 engine, beating out yet another Bavarian powertrain, the 1.5-litre turbo triple found in the 118i, 218i and 318i.

The beastly 280kW/475Nm 2.0-litre turbo four-pot found in Mercedes-AMG's A45, GLA45 and CLA45 won the 1.8 to 2-litre category, beating Audi's 2.0-litre TFSI engine found in a swathe of Audi models.

Audi's 2.5-litre five-cylinder engine found in the RS3 and RSQ3 won the 2 to 2.5-litre category, ahead of the new 2.5-litre turbocharged four cylinder found in Porsche's recently updated 718 Boxster.

The 2.5 to 3-litre category was taken out by the overall third place winner, Porsche's new turbocharged six-cylinder found in the new 911, which develops 309kW/500Nm in S guise.

It came out ahead of the twin-turbo version of BMW's iconic 3.0-litre inline six that is found in the ferocious M3 and M4.

The 3 to 4-litre prize belonged to the 3.9-litre Ferrari engine, beating Mercedes-AMG's 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 found in the GT and C63, and Porsche's manic naturally aspirated 4.0-litre flat six used in the 911 R and GT3.

Maranello's domination continued in the 4-litre plus segment, with the 6.3-litre V12 found in the F12tdf taking out the top prize ahead of Audi's 5.2-litre V10 used by the R8 and Lamborghini Huracan, and Mercedes-AMG's 5.5-litre V8 used in a number of models such as the E63, S63 and GLE63.

It was no surprise to see Tesla's all-electric drivetrain take out the Green category, trumping the BMW i8 and Volvo's recently developed T8 2.0-litre petrol-electric hybrid seen in the XC90.

The New Engine category was won by the 3.9-litre Ferrari, trailed by the hybrid Volvo and the 911 turbo six.

And lastly the prancing horse had its name all over the Performance Engine category, taking out the quinella with the V8 beating out the F12 V12, with Porsche's atmo 4.0-litre in third.

2016 International Engine of the Year award winners

Category	Winner
EOTY	Ferrari 3.9L twin-turbo V8
Sub 1-litre	Ford 1.0L EcoBoost
1 to 1.4-litre	PSA 1.2L three-cylinder turbo
1.4 to 1.8-litre	BMW 1.5L petrol electric hybrid
1.8 to 2-litre	Mercedes-AMG 2.0L turbo four-cylinder
2 to 2.5-litre	Audi 2.5L turbo five-cylinder
2.5 to 3-litre	Porsche 3.0L turbo six-cylinder
3 to 4-litre	Ferrari 3.9L twin-turbo V8
4-litre plus	Ferrari 6.3L V12
Green	Tesla electric drivetrain
New	Ferrari 3.9L twin-turbo V8
Performance	Ferrari 3.9L twin-turbo V8