Car information - Cars 2 Run: International Engine of the year

Fiat's turbocharged 875-cc TwinAir two-cylinder engine got the most votes in three or four engine categories.

Best new Engine of 2011
Best Green Engine of the Year
Best engine of the year in the Sub 1.0-liter (which Toyota / Daihatsu design 1.0 VVT-i engine previously has won a couple of years in a row).
International Engine of the Year (first time for Fiat, congratulation!)

The engine is available in three different versions: 50kW, 60kW and 78kW. It lowest average fuel consumption rating is said to be 4.1L/100km.

Matt Davis, one of the panelists, commented about the engine:

“I was as skeptical as anyone before I tried this engine, but it’s an entirely ‘new-old’ experience that is the ultimate minimalist IC engine expression. I dig the simplicity here and the sound inside the car. Fuel is literally sipped.”

Fiats program manager, Gianni Mastrangelo said:

"We wanted an engine to fully demonstrate our downsizing capabilities and we needed a displacement that could fully exploit our MultiAir system. We concluded that a two-cylinder, 875-cc setup with a turbo was capable of realizing all our development targets. There were lots of problems to be solved during this project, keeping in mind that this architecture was new. The most important challenge to overcome was integrating the MultiAir system within the two-cylinder activation unit. Plus, we wanted the NVH of the TwinAir to be at least as good as that of a four-cylinder engine."

The TwinAir did won over the competition (372 points), beating the popular Volkswagen 1.4-liter TSI Twincharger (346 points). I would like to try the Fiat engine!