BMW has easily won the most accolades in the eight-year history of the International Engine of the Year competition (31)… This year, the Munich marque’s 5,0-litre M5/M6 powerplant retains its International Engine of the Year award and recaptures the “Above 4,0-litre” and “Best Performance” powerplant titles.
BMW has easily won the most accolades in the eight-year history of the International Engine of the Year competition (31)… This year, the Munich marque’s 5,0-litre M5/M6 powerplant retains its International Engine of the Year award and recaptures the “Above 4,0-litre” and “Best Performance” powerplant titles.
Hat trick for F1-inspired V10
The high-revving 5,0-litre V10 from BMW’s M Division, which produces 373 kW at 7 750 r/min and 520 N.m at 6 100 r/min, scored 318 points versus Volkswagen’s 1,4-litre TSI (Golf GT – 270 pts), BMW’s 3-litre bi-turbo diesel (535d – 233 pts), Toyota’s 1,5-litre hybrid (Prius, 200 pts), VW’s 2,0-litre FSI turbo (Golf GTI, 199 points), BMW 3,2-litre straight six (M3 – 139 pts) and Subaru 2,5-litre turbo (Forester, Impreza – 104 pts) to retain its International Engine of the Year award for 2006.
The M5/M6 powerplant (310 points) also defeated Ferrari’s F430 4,3-litre V8 (159 pts), Mercedes-Benz AMG 6,0-litre bi-turbo (SL65, CL65 – 108 pts), the 5,0-litre turbodiesel V10 in VW’s Touareg (91 pts), the Chevrolet Corvette’s 7,0-litre V8 (Z06 – 78 pts) and the Scuderia’s 5,7-litre V12 from the 612 Scaglietti (75 points) in the Above 4-litre category and beat the F430, SL65 AMG, Z06, Porsche 911 Carrera S’ 3,8-litre flat six and BMW 3,2-litre straight six (in descending order) to the Best Performance Engine of the Year title.
The respective winners were chosen by a jury of 61 motoring journalists from around the globe, of which CAR technical editor Jake Venter was South Africa’s sole representative. The jurors lauded BMW’s 5,0-litre V10, which has now garnered seven “Engine Oscars” since its introduction last year, for being the first powerplant to win the overall award two years in a row.
Repeat wins for Toyota, Honda, VW and BMW
The Toyota Prius’ 1,5-litre Hybrid Synergy Drive unit has made it three straight years at the top in the Awards’ Best Fuel Economy category. It scored a total of 196 points, ahead of Honda hybrid 1,3-litre IMA (Civic – 127 pts), Fiat’s 1,3-litre JTD turbodiesel (Grande Punto – 111 pts), Honda’s 3,0-litre V6 hybrid (Accord – 74 pts), Toyota’s 3,5-litre V6 hybrid (Lexus GS450h – 54 pts and the Renault 2,0-litre turbodiesel (Mégane – 49 pts).
The Prius engine also again emerged victorious in the 1,4-litre to 1,8-litre category, defeating the Honda 1,8-litre (Civic), Mini Cooper S’ supercharged 1,6-litre, Renault’s 1,5-litre dCi (Clio), PSA/Ford diesel 1,6-litre and Toyota’s 1,8-litre VVTL-i 190. 2006 also sees Honda’s 1-litre IMA triumph yet again in the Sub 1-litre category. The 995 cm3 unit now has seven straight category wins since 2000, the year that the petrol-electric unit won the overall title of International Engine of the Year award.
Described by juror Frank Markus as having “a broad torque curve with no boost lag, making this one of the most pleasant and engaging engines in the market”, Volkswagen’s 2,0-litre FSI Turbo (the powerplant of the Golf GTI, Audi A3, Sportback and A4
