BMW Twin Turbo Takes International Engine of Year Award; Toyota Wins Best Fuel Economy Category

www.greencarcongress.com ^ | 05/08/2007 | Staff

[Red Badger]

BMW’s 3-liter twin turbo (earlier post) was named International Engine of the Year 2007 at the ninth annual International Engine of the Year Awards at Engine Expo in Stuttgart, Germany. BMW won two other category awards for its 2.5-liter inline six and 5-liter V10, in addition to having the twin turbo named Best New Engine.

The 62 automotive journalists from 30 countries who served as judges also named Volkswagen’s 1.4-liter turbocharged and supercharged TSI unit (earlier post) as best in the 1-liter to 1.4-liter class, with its larger sibling, the 2-liter turbo developed by Audi and applied in the Golf GTi and Audi A3, topping the 1.8-liter to 2-liter category.

Toyota meanwhile saw its 1.5-liter hybrid that powers the Prius named Best Fuel Economy engine and its 1-liter 3-cylinder from the Aygo and Yaris take the honors in the Sub 1-liter category.

International Engine of the Year Awards 2007 Winners

Category Engine

Best New Engine of 2007 BMW 3-liter Twin-Turbo(335i) Best Fuel Economy Toyota 1.5-liter Hybrid Synergy Drive (Prius)

Best Performance Engine BMW 5-liter V10 (M5, M6)

Sub 1-liter Toyota 1-liter (Aygo, Yaris, Peugeot 107, Citroën C1)

1-liter to 1.4-liter Volkswagen 1.4-liter TSI Twincharger (Golf, Touran, Jetta)

1.4-liter to 1.8-liter BMW-PSA 1.6-liter Turbo (MINI, Peugeot 207)

1.8-liter to 2-liter Volkswagen 2-liter Turbo (Golf, Audi A3, A6, SEAT Leon, Skoda Octavia)

2-liter to 2.5-liter BMW 2.5-liter (325, 525, X3, Z4)

2.5-liter to 3-liter BMW 3-liter Twin-Turbo (335i)

3-liter to 4-liter Porsche 3.6-liter Turbo (911)

Above 4-liter BMW 5-liter V10 (M5, M6)

International Engine of the Year 2007: BMW 3-liter Twin-Turbo (335i)

[Red Badger]

Ping!.....

[misterrob]

BMW makes a really nice car.....

[nevergore]

I have one...a 740i and love it!

[Disambiguator]

BMW makes a really nice car.....

They make nice motorcycles, too. They were making motorcycles and aircraft engines before they got into the car business.

Some of the newer BMW motorcycles are pretty wild. They have shed their staid image and are now firmly committed to HIGH performance. How about 122 hp from a boxer twin?

[The Great RJ]

Sad to see that US auto engineering was not represented.

[Red Badger]

You noticed that, too, eh?........

[Atlas Sneezed]

That BMW straight 6 is one of the sweetest, smoothest engines ever made, and has been for decades.

[VeniVidiVici]

For 50K for the 335i it better have running water.

[RightWhale]

A one liter engine, is that for lawnmowers and leaf blowers? Would be great to have a dual turbo chainsaw.

[gathersnomoss]

Where is the Ford Mini Van?

[Red Badger]

A lot of EuROPean commuter cars have these tiny engines......You think WE pay high prices for fuel, IIRC, I paid $4 a gallon in Germany in 2000..........It cost $100 to fill up our rented Mercedes on a business trip!.......

[Red Badger]

Where is the Ford Mini Van?

Whimpering in the corner of the parking lot mumbling something about "Soccer Moms"............

[Red Badger]

For 50K for the 335i it better have running water.

and a hot tub!.......

[RightWhale]

The boat I took to Delos had one cylinder and that one cylinder was bigger than one liter; it’s probably still running after 40 years and it was ancient at the time. There are a few little cars showing up in Fairbanks, but not so tiny as those metro scooters. A Dodge Ram could go right over one of those and not notice.

[Red Badger]

A Dodge Ram could go right over one of those and not notice.

I know. I got one........

[Be Free]

Not bragging, but I have the 335i coupe (the twin-turbo). I previously had an M3. The 335i has 300 bhp, where the M3 had 330 bhp. The 335i is much smoother, and is lightning-quick. After 5 consecutive bimmers, this is the best yet!

[VeniVidiVici]

Brag! That’s what cars are for! :-)

I own a GTO and wonder where I’ve been without 400hp my whole life.

Don’t get me wrong; I think a 335i would be a nice car to have but then I look at others in that price range and start to wilt.

I think I can get a used Viper for that. Or a twin-turbo Cummings diesel. Outfit with a chip, propane and giggle juice and squirt my way to 800hp. Nice ride too!

[ThePythonicCow]

From: http://www.greencarcongress.com/2006/03/bmw_unveils_new.html:

BMW Unveils New Direct-Injection, Bi-Turbo Inline Six

1 March 2006



The new bi-turbo gasoline direct injection inline-six.

BMW is resuming the use of turbocharger technology in the design of its large-scale serial production gasoline engines.

At the Geneva auto show, the company unveiled a new in-line 6-cylinder bi-turbo engine with direct injection and fully variable camshaft control to optimize combustion. The new bi-turbo direct-injection engine produces 306 hp and 400 Nm of torque with “low fuel consumption.”

In two months, BMW will announce a first vehicle to feature this new engine generation. It will be launched on the market in the foreseeable future, according to Prof. Dr. Dr. E.h. Burkhard Göschel, Member of the Board of Management of BMW, speaking at the press conference in Geneva.

BMW first introduced turbos in Europe in 1973 with the production of the BMW 2002 Turbo, but subsequently dropped the technology in its gasoline models over concerns over fuel consumption coupled with rising fuel prices.

The new bi-turbo engine uses two small turbo chargers built with new heat-resistant material to provide an excellent response behavior.

The typical “turbo lag”—the moment right before the charger kicks in to enhance performance—has now become a thing of the past. This engine is agile, and it performs like a big naturally aspirated engine, but at much better mileage.

—Dr. Göschel

The new engine also uses BMW’s High Precision Injection system. High-Precision Injection (HPI) is a lean spray-guided gasoline direct-injection technology that BMW projects will increase fuel efficiency by up to 10% in the Euro test cycle and between 5%–15% in real world driving. (Earlier post.)

[Rocketwolf68]

How about Kawasaki’s ZX-14 powerplant, 1350 cc’s making 200 horsepower and getting 40 mpg? Everytime the front launches skyward it makes me smile.