At the trade fair “Engine Expo” in Stuttgart, Germany there is an annual “Engine of The Year” award competition. For 2011, BMW took home four wins in various displacement classes and further strengthened its standing as the most successful manufacture in the competition’s history. Three gasoline engines took home the gold: the Mini’s turbocharged four, BMW’s turbocharged straight six and the M3’s naturally aspirated V8. BMW’s new twin-turbo diesel four cylinder also took home an alternative fuel win.
BMW even made a few repeat victories this year. Their turbo straight six found in the 3 Series, 5 Series, X3 and upcoming 6 Series won its class last year and is a remarkable mix of efficiency and power. For the fourth year in a row, the 4.0 liter naturally aspirated 420 horsepower V8 found in the M3 won its displacement class. This engine does the un-thinkable and revs to over 8k rpms while still providing gobs of torque. There is a reason the M in BMW stands for “motor”.
