Fierce competition for 2012 Engine of the Year awards

Thirty-nine all-new powerplants and an astonishing 46 ‘green’ contenders in the running for 2012 International Engine of the Year awards

Arguably the most diverse field to date is in contention for the prestigious 2012 Engine of the Year honours, with a raft of new high-po powerplants taking the fight to the latest breed of fuel-sipping lean-combustion units.

There’s also the possibility a diesel or electric powerplant could claim the overall honours for the first time in the awards’ 14-year history.

The competition is judged by a panel of motoring journalists from around the world and is organised by the UK’s largest technical motoring, aerospace and traffic management publication company -- UKIP Media & Events Automotive Magazines.

Since the competition's inception in 1999, BMW has been the most dominant manufacturer, bagging the overall title on no less than six occasions (see honour roll below). Toyota and Volkswagen have two gongs each to their credit, while last year’s winner was Fiat’s punchy 875cc TwinAir engine.

Among the notable new contenders for this year are McLaren’s compact yet potent 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8 that propels the MP4-12C, and it faces stiff competition for the torque-laden 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8 as used by the new M5 and M6.

At the other end of the spectrum are the all-electric engines that power the Nissan LEAF and Renault Fluence, along with the efficient 1.0-litre three-cylinder EcoBoost engine used by the latest Fiesta and Mazda’s 2.2-litre ‘SKYACTIVE-D’ diesel unit.

Dean Slavnich, editor of Engine Technology International and co-chairman of the International Engine of the Year Awards, was quoted as saying: “As ever, the judging panel has assessed every new engine to the market in the past 12 months, and we firmly believe that this year’s judging has been the toughest ever.

The 14th International Engine of the Year Award will be announced at a ceremony at Engine Expo 2012 in Stuttgart, Germany on June 13, with a total of 12 awards being handed out to manufacturers who have been judged to have achieved excellence in powertrain engineering.

Roll of Honour – International Engine of the Year (overall winners)
1999 Toyota Yaris 1SZ-FE 1.0L
2000 Honda Insight 1.0L IMA
2001 BMW M3 S54 3.2L
2002 BMW N62 4.4L Valvetronic
2003 Mazda RX-8 1.3L Renesis
2004 Toyota Prius 1NZ-FXE 1.5L Hybrid Synergy Drive
2005 BMW M5/M6 S85B50 5.0L V10
2006 BMW M5/M6 S85B50 5.0L V10
2007 BMW 3.0L N54B30 Twin Turbo
2008 BMW 3.0L N54B30 Twin Turbo
2009 Volkswagen 1.4L TSI Twincharger
2010 Volkswagen 1.4L TSI Twincharger
2011 Fiat 500 875cc TwinAir

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