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The winner this year in the 1.8- to 2-litre category is the successor to one of the most successful engines in the history of the Awards.

From 2005, Audi’s first 2-litre turbo I4 won this category four times. It even came third this year! But the mantle has been passed to that trophy-laden engine’s successor, found in a multitude of applications from Audi’s A4, A5 and Q5, to VW’s Scirocco and brand-new Golf GTI.

Available in a range of outputs from 178bhp to 208bhp, the motor has a displacement of 1,984cc. As one would expect from Audi, it’s a technological tour-de-force. The inlet camshaft adjusts variably through up to 60° of crankshaft rotation, and the engine also has Audi’s valvelift system. Variable control of the exhaust valves means that the charge cycle can be drastically improved. The 2-litre TFSI in the Audi A4 reaches its maximum torque level of 350Nm at an engine speed of just 1,500rpm – a key feature that impressed all judges.

But it wasn’t just power that attracted the judges’ votes, for this is a smooth-revving engine, too. There are two balancer shafts rotating with twice the speed of the crankshaft in the crankcase, compensating for the free second-order inertial forces and leading to refined running with very low vibrations.

Other technical highlights are: newly developed six-hole injectors that deliver the fuel into the combustion chambers at a pressure of 150bar for efficient combustion; optimised turbine and compressor wheels that have improved the turbocharger’s reaction; a new intercooler that combines a high degree of efficiency with low weight and small dimensions; and an oil pump that operates with volume-regulated delivery and two-stage pressure control. Such innovative measures have improved the unit’s fuel consumption to 6.8 litres/100km (34.6mpg), so it’s no wonder that the TFSI caught the attention of so many judges from around the world.