Depending on how dedicated a PHer you consider yourself, you may or may not be familiar with the International Engine of the Year awards. It's where various lumps of reciprocating metal are presented with accolades for their technical achievement, and it sounds an absolutely marvellous evening. Gotta celebrate them while we can, right?
This year saw another victory for the Audi 2.5-litre five-cylinder engine (because what else is interesting between 2.0- and 2.5-litres?), plus prizes for the 999cc triple in the Up GTI, the Porsche 718 2.0-litre turbo and the PSA 1.2-litre three-cylinder. Arguably of most interest, however, were the gongs scooped up by Ferrari.
The Superfast V12 won the 'over 4.0-litre' and 'best new engine' categories, the 6.5-litre deemed sufficiently tweaked from the old 6.2 to be classified as new. The '3.0-3.9-litre' class was again won by the stunning 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8 found in the 488, although it also took the prestigious 'Best of the Best' accolade; with the awards now 20 years old, the 68 judges were asked to pick their favourite from all the winners since 1998. Tough job...
"Without doubt, we're looking at an engineering masterclass from Ferrari. No turbo lag, beautiful delivery, raw emotion, a furious growl and so much power - this Ferrari V8 is a work of art" said Dean Slavnich, co-chairman of the IEOTY Awards, citing the improvements made for the Pista as a significant contributing factor to the V8's success.
All well and good, but that's a big claim to make given the standards set by various engines over the past 20 years. In the spirit of good discussion and debate, therefore, what would you cite as the best engine of the past two decades? Don't forget it has to be from the list of winners, which you can see here. BMW makes a very strong case in the S54 straight six and the S85 V10, while the legendary AMG M156 - winner of the 'above 4.0-litre' in 2009/10 - shouldn't be forgotten either. There's also the Alfa V6 (as found in the 156), the Toyota 2ZZ-GE that found fame in various Lotuses and the Honda S2000's F20. Plenty of choice, then. And before you ask, neither the Lexus LFA nor Carrera GT V10s made the list. Outrageous, right? Still, the floor is yours; let's see what you think...
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