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While Ferrari purists the world over may lament the loss of the prancing horse’s screaming naturally aspirated V8 engines, the judging panel at the International Engine Of The Year Awards have judged the new 3.9 litre twin turbo V8 as the best engine of 2016.
Ferrari’s trophy cabinet now boasts awards for overall Engine Of The Year, as well as the Performance Engine category, and the New Engine category, plus the 3.0 to 4.0 litre class.
And that’s just for the V8 engine used in the 488 GTB, 488 Spider, and California T. Beyond that Ferrari also took home the prize for the over 4.0 litre class with the naturally aspirated 6.3 litre V12 as found in the F12 Berlinetta and F12 TdF.
“It’s a giant leap forward for turbocharged engines in terms of efficiency, performance and flexibility,” Graham Johnson, co-chair of the International Engine Of The Year Awards said.
“It truly is the best engine in production today and will forever be remembered as one of the all-time greats.”
The award, judged by a panel of 62 motoring journalists representing 31 countries is now in its 18th year.
Ferrari’s V8 represents the first time in a decade since an engine with more than six cylinders, or in a V-configuration has won the overall prize, with BMW’s naturally aspirated V10 the last ‘large’ engine to do so.
OTHER CATEGORIES
Other class winners for 2016 include Ford’s 998cc EcoBoost three-cylinder turbo petrol in the sub 1.0 litre category (for the fifth year running), and the PSA Group (Peugeot Citroen) 1.2 litre three-cylinder turbo petrol in the 1.0 to 1.4 litre category.
The BMW i8’s 1.5 litre three-cylinder turbo petrol hybrid combo took out the 1.4 to 1.8 litre class, while the highly strung 2.0 litre Mercedes-AMG turbo four as seen in the A45 and CLA45 won the 1.8 to 2.0 litre class.
Keeping the performance theme, the Audi RS3’s 2.5 litre inline five conquered in the 2.0 to 2.5 litre class, and Porsche’s new 3.0 litre turbo flat six from the 911 won the 2.5 to 3.0 litre title.
Tesla’s fully electric Model S and Model X powertrain scooped the Green Engine Of The Year title.
MORE: Engines | Ferrari | Engine Of The Year
