BMW i8 Crowns Itself with International Engine of the Year 2015

MANILA: And the award of International Engine for the year 2015 goes to the 1.5-liter three-cylinder turbocharged hybrid engine. This is not a dream where in a line from any award ceremony has been attached to the automobile industry but this is the reality. Finally, the three-year reign of Ford 1.0-liter Ecoboost engine has been ended with the best performance of i8's engine, winning on the basis of 274 point scores.

Said, there are different standards to win different awards, and for this one, the engine should have been launched after June 2014 and must be housed in a passenger car that is out for sale in more than one country as on by June 2015.Qualifying all the rules, the BMW i8 engine surfaced on top in the 1.4-liter to 1.8-liter category as well as in the New Engine category with 262 and 339 points respectively. This beating heart of i8 scored a total of 274 points, followed by Ford 1.0-liter Eco Boost engine with 267 points and PSA Peugeot Citroen 1.2-liter mill on third place with 222 points.

The i8 combines the performance of an electric motor and a petrol engine which offers an exceptional driving experience. Brake energy regeneration system incorporated in the i8 automatically switches the electric motor into a generator thus ensuring maximum utilization of the waste brake energy. The Electro-synchronous motor located on the front axle promises a maximum power of 131 hp and spins the wheels with a peak torque of 250 Nm. Hugging this is the 1.5-litre petrol engine of the i8 which extracts out every unit of energy efficiently from the oil to churn out a maximum power of 231 hp at 5800 rpm with a rumbling torque of 320 Nm at 3700 rpm. Along with this the car can fly with a top-speed of 250 km/h and can cover 80 to 120 km/h of speed in less than 4 seconds. It hands over an unbeaten efficiency of 47.61 km/l.

The i8 was not the only BMW with a winning title. The S55 3.0-liter, 6-cylinder in line engine from the M3 and M4 has also won the award in the category of 2.5 to 3.0 liter engines. The N55 unit from the M135i and M235i also finished at second place in the same category. Thus, BMW is an icon of technology where its great engines growl for a revolution and upgradation in the automotive industry.