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Images: - (Top) Dr Gerrit Kiesgen, General Manager Prince Engine Family, BMW and (Bottom) Mr Vincent Jacquier, Mechanical Chief Engineer of the Prince Engine, PSA Peugeot Citroen

BMW and PSA Peugeot Citroën continue to reap the rewards from their jointly developed 1.6-litre turbo petrol engine, which, having taken top honours in its category class once again, extends its winning dominance to four years. In winning this Award, perhaps the most notable thing is that this innovative German/ French collaboration has once again beaten the third-generation Toyota Prius hybrid.

Gabor Szecsenyi, from Russia’s Autoreview, was one of the judges who gave the Mini Cooper S heart top marks: “This engine is very usable even in its most powerful form. It’s a real two-in-one piece of engineering: flexible for everyday use, but super sporty on track days. A winning powertrain combination.”

Meanwhile, Italian-based journalist Lorenzo Facchinetti also awarded the BMW/PSA engine top marks: “The nice thing about the 1.6-litre turbo is that it retains its awesome character, despite what end application it’s used in.”

Featuring innovative stop/start technology on BMW models, jurors from all regions were once again won over by this powerful yet frugal motor, with points coming in from Asia, South America and North America, as well as Europe. “Few engines fit the character of their subcompact host vehicles as well as this cheeky, go-getter of a turbo does,” said Frank Markus, from Motor Trend in the USA.

Made from light alloy, the 175bhp unit, which powers not only the Cooper S but also the Mini Clubman and Peugeot 207 and 308 models, features a twin-scroll turbocharger, gasoline direct injection, twin overhead camshafts, roller-type drag arms that have been optimised for minimum friction, and hydraulic valve play-compensation elements.

All this means not only plenty of power – let’s not forget the 260Nm that is maintained from 1,500rpm to 5,000rpm – but also an average fuel consumption of 6.9 l/100km (40.9mpg) for non-stop/start engines.