Success in four out of eight capacity classes put the BMW Group in a dominating position at the "International Engine of the Year Awards" this year. Among the award-winning power units at the world's most renowned engine competition were both petrol and diesel engines with four, six and eight cylinders. The victorious quartet consisted of the V8 engine of the BMW M3, the in-line 6-cylinder petrol engine with BMW TwinPower Turbo, direct injection and VALVETRONIC used in such vehicles as the BMW 1 Series, BMW 3 Series and BMW 5 Series, the 4-cylinder diesel engine with BMW TwinPower Turbo from the BMW X1 xDrive 23d and the BMW 123d, and the 4-cylinder Twin Scroll turbo engine of the MINI Cooper S.

The wide range of winning engines is further evidence of the outstanding expertise of the BMW Group in the area of engine development. It enables engines of great power yet also exemplary efficiency to be offered across all series and output classes. The "Engine of the Year" awards were conferred by an international jury made up of 76 engine journalists from 35 countries. The award ceremony was held at the "Engine Expo" trade fair in Stuttgart.

The "Engine of the Year" awards have been in existence since 1999. Since then over 50 class and overall victories have fallen to engines developed for automobiles of the brands BMW and MINI. Among the serial production winners in this competition were the 1.6 litre 4-cylinder engine from the MINI Cooper S, achieving its fourth and last victory this year. Next year it will be the turn of the recently presented successor engine in the 1.4 - 1.8 liter capacity class. In addition to the Twin Scroll technology and petrol direct injection of its award-winning predecessor, this engine also has variable valve control and an output of 135 kw/184 bhp, as well as being the world's most efficient engine in its capacity class.

The first victory in the category of 1.8 - 2 liter engines went to the most powerful 4-cylinder diesel engine in the BMW range. The 2.0 liter fully aluminum direct injection power unit with BMW TwinPower Turbo and common rail direct injection has an output of 150 kW/204 bhp and impressed jury members both with its pulling power and its outstanding efficiency. The experts commented that in view of the qualities of this engine, it appeared doubtful as to whether diesel engines will get any better at all in future.

There was an internal BMW changeover in the class of 2.5 - 3 liter engines.
The new winner in this category is the 3.0 liter in-line 6-cylinder engine with an output of 225kW/306 bhp with BMW TwinPower Turbo, petrol direct injection and VALVETRONIC. It thus replaces the predecessor engine of identical output which secured the overall "Engine of the Year" award in 2007 and 2008, as well as finishing first in its capacity class last year. Yet further proof of the dominance of BMW engines in this capacity class is provided by a glance at the ranking table. Second to the new title winner and a long way ahead of the competition is the new 3.0 liter in-line 6-cylinder diesel engine with BMW TwinPower Turbo and common rail direct injection.

The V8 engine of the BMW M3 won its third award in succession in the capacity class between 3.0 and 4.0 liters. The 309kW/420 bhp 4.0 liter engine used in the high-performance sports cars BMW M3 Coupe, BMW M3 Sedan and BMW M3 Convertible fascinated the jury yet again with its outstanding propulsive force resulting from the high-revving concept which is characteristic of this power unit. In addition to brilliant performance qualities, the experts also noted the impressive efficiency of the high-performance engine, which in the BMW M3 is combined with an Auto Start/Stop function, brake energy regeneration and other BMW EfficientDynamics measures.