Engine of the Year Winners: Ford 1.0 litre EcoBoost is top dog

The Ford 1.0 litre EcoBoost engine has won the Engine of the Year Award 2013 with the highest ever score for an engine in the awards history.

If anything is going to overturn the received wisdom that all small cars should come with a diesel engine, it’s Ford’s 1.0 litre EcoBoost engine.

Torquey, lively and frugal, the 1.0 litre EcoBoost engine is a little marvel, a fact recognised for the second year running by the judging panel for the Engine of the Year Awards,  which has given the 1.0 litre EcoBoost the highest ever marks in the award’s fifteen year history.

A total of 87 car journalists from 35 countries were hugely impressed with the power, torque and small size of the Ford engine, with one journalist, Peter Lyon, commenting: “Who’d have believed it? A 1.0-litre engine that has it all, powerful, fuel efficient, clean and lightweight. This is a masterpiece”.

But it’s not just awards the 1.0 litre EcoBoost is garnering, it’s sales too, with Ford doubling production from August at its Cologne Plant to meet demand.

Joe Bakaj, Ford VP Global Powertrain, said:

With a technology as mature as the internal combustion engine, it’s very rare to achieve a true breakthrough, but that is exactly what the team accomplished with this engine.

You have to drive it to believe a small three-cylinder engine can deliver such performance and fuel economy.

The Ford engine may have eclipsed engines from other car makers in the Engine of the Year Award, but other stunning engines took awards in their own capacity category, including offerings from Ferrari, VW and BMW.

Who said the ICE engine was dead?

Engine of the Year Award Winners 2013

Overall Winner: Ford 999cc three-cylinder turbo

• Sub 1.0 Litre | Ford 999cc three-cylinder turbo (Ford Fiesta, B-Max, Focus, C-Max)
• 1.0-1.4 Litre | Volkswagen 1.4-litre TSI Twincharger (Volkswagen Polo etc.)
• 1.4-1.8 Litre | BMW-PSA 1.6-litre turbo petrol (Mini Cooper S, Peugeot 208 etc.)
• 1.8-2.0 Litre | BMW 2-litre twin-turbo four-cylinder petrol (BMW 125i, 320i etc.)
• 2.0-2.5 Litre | Audi 2.5-litre five-cylinder turbo (Audi TT RS, RS3, Q3 RS)
• 2.5-3.0 Litre | Porsche 2.7-litre DI (Porsche Boxster, Cayman)
• 3.0-4.0 Litre | McLaren 3.8-litre V8 (McLaren MP4-12C)
• Over 4.0 Litre |  Ferrari 6.3-litre V12 (Ferrari F12 Berlinetta)
• Green Engine |  Fiat 875cc two-cylinder turbo CNG (Fiat Panda, 500L)
• New Engine | Volkswagen 1.4-litre TSI ACT (Volkswagen Golf)
• Performance |  Ferrari 6.3-litre V12 (Ferrari F12 Berlinetta)