BMW wins engine award

M5's V10 takes the biscuit

By PH Staff / Wednesday, 1 June 2005 / Loading comments

BMW's 507bhp V10

BMW has won the International Engine of the Year award with its 5.0-litre V10 unit from the new M5.

The 507bhp powerplant of the BMW M5 and forthcoming M6 Coupé won the overall Engine of the Year award for 2005, with a panel of judges from around the world praising the engine’s flexibility, high revving nature (the engine can rev to 8,250rpm) and power. The 4,999cc unit won the overall title with the V10 engine’s stiffest competition coming from the 3.0-litre twin-turbo diesel engine that powers the BMW 535d. That engine took second place overall.

In addition to winning the overall title the 5.0-litre V10 engine also achieved several class victories. It won the best engine in the 4.0-litre and over category, eclipsing powerplants from the Ferrari F430 and VW Touareg and Phaeton, and the prize for best new engine for 2005. The final accolade for the V10 unit was to be crowned best performance engine, beating powerplants from Ferrari and Mercedes.

BMW claimed to be the only manufacturer to have ever been awarded a total of six category wins in a single year and its overall tally of 26 awards now means the company has achieved more first place trophies than any other engine manufacturer in the history of the competition. The 3.2-litre engine from the BMW M3 took top honours in its category for the fifth time in succession, another record for the Engine of the Year awards.

Product boss Bernhard Gobmeier said, "Winning overall honours in the Engine of the Year awards is a huge achievement and one which rewards our engineers’ capabilities and enthusiasm. By making a product that has variable peak power outputs and low down torque combined with high revving characteristics, the M5 driver has at their disposal one of the most powerful yet flexible production engines in the world."