Ford Motor Company’s ultra-fuel efficient and spirited 1.0-litre EcoBoost petrol engine today was named 2013 International Engine of the Year, marking the second straight year Ford’s acclaimed three-cylinder engine has captured the award. The 1.0-litre EcoBoost – which combines direct fuel injection, turbocharging and variable valve timing to lower fuel consumption without sacrificing power – received the highest score in the history of the awards. The engine also won the “Best Engine Under 1.0-litre” category at the annual awards presented by Engine Technology International magazine. Ford also confirmed plans to double production of the engine at its Cologne (Germany) Engine Plant to more than 1,000 engines a day from mid-August to meet demand. “With a technology as mature as the internal combustion engine, it’s very rare to achieve a true breakthrough, but that is exactly what the team accomplished with this engine,” said Joe Bakaj, Ford vice president, Global Powertrain. “You have to drive it to believe a small three-cylinder engine can deliver such performance and fuel economy.” A panel of 87 automotive journalists from 35 countries around the world judged the awards on drivability, performance, economy, refinement and the successful application of advanced engine technology. Ford is one of three car makers to record back-to-back victories in the 15-year history of the awards. The Ford 1.0-litre EcoBoost also has won the International Paul Pietsch Award 2013 for technological innovation at German magazine Auto Motor und Sport Best Cars Awards and theDewar Trophy from the Royal Automobile Club in Great Britain, a Breakthrough Award from Popular Mechanics magazine in the U.S. “Who'd have believed it? A 1.0-litre engine that has it all, powerful, fuel efficient, clean and lightweight,” said Peter Lyon, U.K. juror and freelance journalist. “This is a masterpiece.” The 1.0-litre EcoBoost was designed at Ford’s research and development centres in Aachen and Merkenich, Germany, and Dunton and Dagenham, U.K., and is built in Cologne and Craiova, Romania. Dean Slavnich, co-chairman of the 15th International Engine of the Year awards and editor of Engine Technology International Magazine, said: “Baby EcoBoost – Ford’s first-ever three-cylinder design – is still the engine to beat across the board. It’s economical in real-world conditions while the compact turbo helps ensure that the entire package can power larger vehicles like the Grand C-MAX with ease.” The 1.0-litre EcoBoost engine is currently offered in small cars such as Fiesta and B-MAX and compact offerings including Focus, C-MAX and Grand C-MAX. In the near future it will power larger cars including the new Ford Mondeo. It also will be offered in Transit Connect and Transit Courier commercial vehicles and Tourneo Connect and Tourneo Courier people movers. The engine is being rolled out throughout the world. It is now available for customers buying the new EcoSport in India and China and later this year will be offered with Fiesta in North America. Small enough to fit in the overhead luggage compartment of an airplane, the engine delivers best in class petrol fuel economy for Europe in such vehicles as Fiesta, Focus, C-MAX and Grand C-MAX. Ford’s Cologne and Craiova Engine Plants were upgraded to facilitate 1.0-litre EcoBoost production and introduced advanced manufacturing techniques that reduce the volume of coolant required when machining aluminium engine parts to just five millilitres per component from two litres previously, contributing to a reduced environmental footprint from manufacturing. New “cold testing” technology was also introduced, allowing engines to be tested without being started – reducing fuel usage and CO2 emissions from the process by 66 per cent. All remaining energy required to run the Cologne plant comes from renewable sources, including three hydro-power plants in Norway and Sweden. Ford of Europe plans to triple annual production of vehicles equipped with fuel-efficient EcoBoost petrol engines to approximately 480,000 by 2015, from 141,000 in 2011. The company projects that more than 300,000 of those vehicles will be equipped with the 1.0-litre EcoBoost. In the first quarter of 2013 in Europe, the 1.0-litre EcoBoost engine accounted for 42 per cent of orders in B-MAX, 30 per cent in Focus and 24 per cent in Fiesta across Ford’s 19 traditional European markets.
