STRICT EMBARGO: 14.00hrs Central European Time 17 June 2009

VOLKSWAGEN 1.4-LITRE TSI TWINCHARGER SCOOPS INTERNATIONAL ENGINE OF THE YEAR TITLE

• VW 1.4-litre wins overall International Engine of the Year award as well as being voted the Green Engine of the Year
• German powertrain engineering dominates, winning 11 of the 12 available awards

Volkswagen has secured overall honours at the 2009 International Engine of the Year Awards, winning the accolade for the first time in the company’s history with its diminutive yet powerful 1.4-litre TSI Twincharger engine. The unit is offered across much of the VW model range, including the Golf, Scirocco and Eos, and is used to good effect by Seat in the Ibiza Cupra. The turbocharged and supercharged 1.4-litre also won the 1-litre to 1.4-litre category and was voted Green Engine of the Year, beating both Toyota’s and Honda’s new electric-hybrid powerplants.

Dean Slavnich, editor of Engine Technology International and co-chairman of the International Engine of the Year Awards, 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.”

Although losing out on the top award this year, BMW once again secured success at the Awards with its mighty ‘M Power’ 4-litre V8 topping the 3-litre to 4-litre category and its 3-litre DI Twin Turbo judged to be the best 2.5-litre to 3-litre engine. The Munich giant also shared a third category win with PSA for their 1.6-litre Turbo engine in the 1.4-litre to 1.8-litre category, an outstanding product generated by the two companies’ joint powertrain development venture.

Also worthy of mention is Mercedes-Benz, which successfully took three category wins. Its 2.1-litre diesel won the 2-litre to 2.5-litre category and its powerhouse, AMG-developed, 6.2-litre V8 won the Above 4-litre category, with the same unit also judged to be the Performance Engine of the Year.

The Awards, which are judged by 65 motoring journalists from 32 countries across four continents, also rewarded a variety of other manufacturers for engine excellence in a number of different categories. Toyota won the Sub 1-litre category with its 998cc, three-cylinder engine; Audi was rewarded for its 2-litre, four-cylinder TFSI engine in the 1.8-litre to 2-litre category; and Porsche’s 3.8-litre flat-six was voted New Engine of the Year.  

The 11th annual International Engine of the Year Award ceremony took place at Engine Expo 2009 in Stuttgart, Germany on 17 June. The event, one of the annual highlights of the automotive industry calendar, saw a total of 12 Awards given to those manufacturers who have been judged to have achieved excellence in their powertrain engineering.

Above 4-litre
Mercedes-AMG 6.2-litre (CLK, S, SL, CL, CLS, ML)                           

And…

The International Engine of the Year 2009
Volkswagen 1.4-litre TSI Twincharger (Golf, Eos, Scirocco, Touran, Tiguan, Jetta, Seat Ibiza Cupra)