Ferrari dominates Engine of the Year awards yet again

Almost inconceivably, the twin-turbocharged, 3.9l Ferrari V8 nestled behind drivers of the 488 GTB and the 488 Pista has won the Engine + Powertrain of the Year award yet again.

In the face of the addition of the “Powertrain” part that opened the door to electric cars, the high-revving Ferrari motor owned the award for the fourth straight year.

No other engine has ever won four straight titles before, and it had to overcome the 3.8l Porsche turbo motor, the McLaren 4.0l twin-turbo V8, the 6.5l naturally aspirated Ferrari V12 and even Tesla’s electric powertrain to win the Over 478kW category.

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It left the award’s co-chair, Dean Slavnich, shaking his head at the supercar engine’s dominance of its class and all other engines.

“Since its launch in 2016 the Ferrari V8 engine remains undefeated at the International Engine + Powertrain of the Year Awards, winning 14 trophies over three years,” Slavnich said.

“And now it has won the overall award four years straight, cementing its place in the history books. I very much doubt such an achievement will ever be matched again.”

The award, managed by the Engine Technology International organisation, was rebranded in 2019 to include electric cars, with Jaguar’s I-Pace adding to its World Car of the Year and European Car of the Year awards by taking the Best Electric Powertrain award.

But there was more for Jaguar, with the I-Pace also claiming trophies for the Best New Engine+Powertrain award and the Best Powertrain between 257kW and 331kW.

The Jaguar ran the Ferrari close in the outright award as well, finishing second ahead of the versatile and strong Mercedes-AMG 4.0l biturbo V8 that powers everything from heavy SUVs to the stunning GT R sports car.

The sub-110kW category was dominated by three-cylinder engines, with Ford’s evergreen 1.0l motor beating out BMW’s 1.5l and PSA’s 1.2l unit.

The 110-183kW award was claimed by Audi’s 2.0l, turbocharged four-cylinder motor ahead of BMW’s similar-sized (but twin-turbo) four and the upper reaches of Ford’s 1.5l, turbo triple. In a sign of the times, the fourth and fifth places in the category fell to full-electric powertrains from BMW and Hyundai-Kia.

The 183-257kW grouping was dominated by Porsche’s 2.5l turbo engine, ahead of BMW’s twin-turbo straight-six engine and the top end of Audi’s 2.0l four-cylinder, with Tesla’s full-electric powertrain from the Model 3 classified in fourth.

In the 257kW to 330kW category the I-Pace beat out Porsche’s 3.0l flat-six turbo, BMW M’s 3.0l, six-cylinder twin turbo and Mercedes-Benz’s new straight-six 3.0l, twin-turbo motor, with its 48-Volt electrical mild-hybrid setup. Long-time class champion, Audi’s 2.5l turbo motor from the RS3 finished fifth.

The big hitters arrived for the 330-404kW category, with Mercedes-AMG’s 4.0l twin-turbo V8 beating out Porsche’s 4.0-litre flat six and BMW M’s 3.0l twin-turbo straight six.

The even-bigger hitters were in the 404 — 478kW class, which was dominated by the 3.9l biturbo V8 in the Ferrari Portofino and GTC4 Lusso T. It beat out Porsche’s 3.8l boxer turbo, the AMG 4.0l twin-turbo, Audi’s evergreen atmo V10 in the R8, the BMW M5’s 4.4l biturbo V8 and McLaren’s twin-turbo 3.8l engine.

It was supercar city above 478kW, with the Ferrari 388 GTB/Pista motor taking the class honours ahead of the 6.5l V12 motor from Ferrari, Porsche’s 3.8l turbo six, Lamborghini’s 6.5l V12 and the 4.0l version of McLaren’s biturbo V8.

International Engine + Powertrain of the Year 2019 - overall

1. Ferrari 3.9l biturbo V8 (488 GTB, 488 Spider and 488 Pista)

2. Jaguar Land Rover full-electric powertrain

3. Mercedes-AMG 4.0l biturbo V8

4. Porsche 2.5l turbo

5. Audi 2.0l four-cylinder TFSI

6. Ford 1.0l  three-cylinder turbo

7. Ferrari 3.9l biturbo V8

 

Categories

Sub 110kW

1. Ford 1.0l three-cylinder turbo

2. BMW 1.5l three-cylinder turbo

3. PSA Peugeot Citroen 1.2l three-cylinder turbo

4. Toyota / Lexus 1.8l electric-petrol hybrid

5. Volkswagen 1.0l  three-cylinder turbo

6. Volkswagen 1.5l TSFI Evo         

 

110kW to 183kW

1. Audi 2.0l four-cylinder TFSI

2. BMW 2.0l four-cylinder twin-turbo

3. Ford 1.5l three-cylinder turbo

4. BMW full-electric powertrain

5. Hyundai-Kia full-electric powertrain

6. PSA Peugeot Citroen 1.2l three-cylinder turbo

 

183kW to 257kW

1. Porsche 2.5l turbo

2. BMW 3.0l six-cylinder twin-turbo

3. Audi 2.0l four-cylinder TFSI

4. Honda 2.0l turbo

5. Tesla full-electric powertrain

6. Renault / Nissan / Infiniti 2.0l VC-turbo

 

257kW to 330kW

1. Jaguar Land Rover full-electric powertrain

2. Porsche 3.0l six-cylinder turbo

3. BMW M 3.0l six-cylinder twin-turbo

4. Mercedes-Benz 3.0l six-cylinder twin-turbo 48V ISG

5. Audi 2.5l five-cylinder turbo

6. BMW 1.5l three-cylinder electric-petrol hybrid

 

330kW to 404kW

1. Mercedes-AMG 4.0l biturbo V8

2. Porsche 4.0l boxer

3. BMW M 3.0l twin-turbo six-cylinder

4. Porsche 3.8l boxer turbo

5. McLaren 3.8l twin-turbo V8

6. Fiat Chrysler 2.9l V6 twin-turbo

 

404kW to 478kW

1. Ferrari 3.9l biturbo V8 (Portofino and GTC4 Lusso T)

2. Porsche 3.8l boxer turbo

3. Mercedes-AMG 4.0l biturbo V8

4. Audi 5.2l V10

5. BMW M 4.4l twin-turbo V8

6. McLaren 3.8l twin-turbo V8

 

Above 478kW

1. Ferrari 3.9l biturbo V8 (488 GTB, 488 Spider and 488 Pista)

2. Ferrari 6.5l V12

3. Porsche 3.8l boxer turbo

4. Lamborghini 6.5l V12

5. McLaren 4.0l twin-turbo V8

6. Tesla full-electric powertrain

 

Best Electric Powertrain

1. Jaguar Land Rover full-electric powertrain

2. Tesla full-electric powertrain

3. BMW full-electric powertrain

4. Hyundai-Kia full-electric powertrain

5. Renault / Nissan full-electric powertrain

6. General Motors full-electric powertrain

 

Best Hybrid Powertrain

1. BMW 1.5l three-cylinder electric-petrol

2. Porsche 4.0l turbo V8 electric-petrol hybrid

3. Toyota / Lexus 1.8l electric-petrol hybrid

4. Volvo 2.0l turbocharger supercharger electric-petrol hybrid

5. Toyota / Lexus 2.5l electric-petrol hybrid

6. Porsche 3.0l electric-petrol hybrid

 

Best New Engine

1. Jaguar Land Rover full-electric powertrain

2. Hyundai-Kia full-electric powertrain

3. Audi / Lamborghini 4.0l V8

4. Renault / Nissan / Infiniti 2.0l VC-turbo

5. Mercedes-AMG 2.0l turbo

6. Ford 1.5l three-cylinder turbo

 

Best Performance Engine

1. Ferrari 3.9l biturbo V8 (488 GTB, 488 Spider and 488 Pista)

2. Ferrari 6.5l V12

3. Porsche 4.0l boxer

4. Mercedes-AMG 4.0l biturbo V8

5. McLaren 4.0l twin-turbo V8

6. Audi 5.2l V10