Germans scoop engine awards. Again...
German car makers take out all but one of the 2009 International Engine of the Year AwardsThe 2009 International Engine of the Year Awards event took place yesterday at the Engine Expo in Stuttgart, Germany, and for the first time Volkswagen took out the top prize.
The International Engine of the Year award was handed to Volkswagen for its 1.4-litre TSI Twincharger engine (available for the Golf in Australia at present), which features both turbo and superchargers to generate relatively high levels of power but with low emissions.
Co-chairman of the International Engine of the Year Awards, Dean Slavnich, said: "The international judging panel is hugely impressed by this VW engine. It's a masterstroke of downsizing technology and a real engineering showcase. I have no doubt that this engine will become the template for a whole new generation of high efficiency, small capacity engines in the years to come."
Coincidentally, all but one of the categories was taken out by a German car maker, which does sound a bit fishy especially when the event is held in Stuttgart, the home of Mercedes which scooped a quarter of the awards (two of which were awarded to its AMG 6.2-litre V8).
Even Porsche got a gong for Best New Engine (3.8-litre flat-six in the 911). Curiously the Nissan GT-R's world-beating 3.8-litre twin turbo V6 didn't rate a mention, despite much of the world's media touting it as one of the best engines ever made.
As well as taking out the Engine of the Year award, Volkswagen's 1.4-litre TSI Twincharger engine also took out the Green Engine of the Year award, beating brand-new hybrid engines from Toyota's Prius and Honda's Insight.
Only one diesel engine was crowned as worthy of an award: the 2.1-litre diesel from Benz.
Though German engines took out 11 of the 12 available awards, the annual International Engine of the Year Awards are "judged by 65 motoring journalists from 32 countries across four continents" according to an official statement. It wasn't immediately clear what percentage of the 65 journos were from Germany.
International Engine of the Year Awards 2009 Winners
Performance Engine of the Year
Mercedes-AMG 6.2-litre (CLK, S, SL, CL, CLS, ML)
1.4-litre to 1.8-litre
BMW-PSA 1.6-litre Turbo (MINI Cooper S, Clubman, Peugeot 207, 308)
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