The International Engine of the Year Award is a big deal for engine manufacturers. The award has been running since 1999 and is judged, annually, by a panel of experts. This year’s panel included 58 world renowned journalists including our very own Jens Meiners. The overall winner for a second year running Ferrari’s 3.9-litre biturbo V8 which comes fitted to the Ferrari 488 GTB and Spider as well as the new Ferrari GTC4Lusso T and Ferrari California T. Maserati also use a variant in the Maserati Quattroporte GTS!
The Ferrari engine achieved 251 points from the panel, edging out second place Porsche with its 3-litre six-cylinder turbo engine used to power the Porsche 911 Carrera range. The Ferrari V8 also managed to take home awards in the Performance Engine class and the 3-litre to 4-litre displacement category. It’s 6.3 litre V12, fitted to the Ferrari F12 and tdf took home the above 4-litre award for the third year.
What makes the Ferrari engine so special? It is the first turbocharged Ferrari since the renowned F40 and has been widely praised for its elimination of turbo lage and progressive delivery of power and torque. Despite the obvious disadvantages associated with a turbocharged engine, it sounds pretty incredible too!
Elsewhere, Honda took the honours for the best New Engine with its 3.5-litre V6 electric-gasoline hybrid powering the Honda/Acura NSX. Unsurprisingly, Tesla stole the show in the Electric Powertrain class with its Tesla full-electric powertrain underpinning the Tesla Model S and Model X. The sub-1 litre category looked pretty exciting with 13 points separating Ford’s 999cc three-cylinder turbo from Volkswagen’s 999cc three-cylinder turbo.
The successes for Ferrari make it the most successful performance car manufacturer since the awards began. With wins in four categories, it trails some way behind behemoths Volkswagen and BMW though!
