Ford 1.0-liter EcoBoost three-cylinder gasoline engine

Ford 1.0-liter EcoBoost three-cylinder gasoline engine

Ford’s 1.0-liter EcoBoost three-cylinder engine has been named 2014 International Engine of the Year for an unprecedented third consecutive year. The tiny engine, which is already available in the Fiesta and coming soon to the Focus, managed to beat designs from the likes of Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes-AMG and was picked because of its driveability, performance, economy, refinement and technology.

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With an engine block small enough to fit in the overhead luggage compartment of an airplane, the 1.0-liter features a cylinder head with an integrated and cooled exhaust manifold that lowers exhaust temperatures for optimizing the fuel-to-air ratio. An innovative flywheel and front pulley design delivers improved refinement, while a compact, low-inertia turbocharger spins at up to 248,000 rpm—more than 4,000 times per second and almost twice the maximum rpm of the turbochargers used in the 2014 Formula One World Championship.

Ferrari 4.5-liter V-8 gasoline engine

Ferrari 4.5-liter V-8 gasoline engine

Speaking of Formula One, the sport's stalwart Ferrari this year took out the Performance Engine of the Year title, with the award going to 4.5-liter V-8 fitted to the 458 Speciale. The engine also took out the award for engines with displacement of 4.0-liters and above. This was the fourth year running a Ferrari engine has triumphed in the two categories.

The international judging panel, which includes journalists from 35 nations, and all praised the Ferrari V-8’s unassailable blend of sophisticated engineering, power, throttle response, precision, performance and efficiency along with its peerless soundtrack. Sadly, the engine is expected to be the last naturally aspirated V-8 fitted to a Ferrari road car. An updated 458 is coming next year and is expected to pack a turbocharged V-8.

Tesla electric powertrain

Tesla electric powertrain

Interestingly, this year’s award saw the inclusion of an electric powertrain: the powertrain of the Tesla Model S. The setup saw Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] take home the award for Green Engine of the Year.

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