BMW
3-litre Twin Turbo (335i) The contest for International Engine
of the Year 2007 was dominated by
the engineering teams from Munich, Wolfsburg and Stuttgart.
The twin-
turbo 3-litre petrol engine from
BMW, Volkswagen’s clever 1.4-litre
supercharged and turbocharged unit,
and Porsche’s mighty 3.6-litre turbo were all in real
contention, but it was BMW’s offering that found favour
with the jurors. The triumph means that BMW takes home the top
prize from the the jury for the fifth time in the International
Engine of the Year Awards’ history. It is also the third
year in a row that the trophy heads back to Munich.
In the final round, impressed by the six-cylinder engine’s
use of lightweight
materials to offer V8-like performance, 53 of the 62 jury members
awarded points
to the engine. Le Figaro’s Thierry Etienne commented:
“The perfect control of direct injection and turbocharging
makes this miracle possible.” Jake Venter, from South
Africa’s CAR magazine, hails the twin turbo as, “a
fitting addition to BMW’s inspired series of six-cylinder
engines.”
What stands out in the twin turbo is the first application of
BMW’s state-of-
the-art direct-injection system, which
features injectors located centrally at the top of the combustion
chamber, aiding efficiency and spray accuracy.
Perhaps the greatest achievement
of the twin-turbo petrol engine was its
margin of victory over a very strong
field: so competitive was the contest
that last year’s winning V10 finished only fourth. Graham
Johnson, co-chair of the Awards summed up: “I hope this
victory encourages BMW to turbocharge more of its petrol engines.” Results:
|
points |
1. BMW 3-litre Twin Turbo (335i) |
395 |
|
|
2. Volkswagen 1.4-litre FSI (TSI) (VW Golf,
Touran, Jetta) |
259 |
|
|
3. Porsche 3.6-litre Turbo (911 Turbo) |
252 |
|
|
4. BMW 5-litre V10 (M5, M6) |
241 |
|
|
5. Volkswagen/Audi 2-litre Turbo FSI (A3,
A4, A6, TT,
Golf GTi, Eos, Jetta, Sąkoda Octavia, Seat Altea, Leon) |
154 |
|
|
6. BMW-PSA 1.6-litre Turbo (Cooper S, Peugeot
207) |
135 |
|
|
7. BMW 2.5-litre 6-cylinder (325, 525, Z4,
X3) |
58 |
|
|
8. Toyota 1-litre 3-cylinder (Aygo, Yaris/Echo/Vitz,
Citroen C1, Peugeot 107) |
56 |
|