For the third year running, Ferrari’s turbocharged V8 engine has been named Engine of the Year 2018 at the prestigious International Engine of the Year Awards. It has also won the award as best engine of the last 20 years.
Ferrari also won five other honours at the 20th anniversary Engine of the Year Awards event. In total, Ferrari has now won 27 trophies in the international awards: no high-performance supercar manufacturer holds more. Powering all Ferrari V8 cars, the 720-horsepower version of the 3.9-litre V8 that’s fitted to the 488 Pista didn’t just win the overall prize: it also took the Performance Engine and 3-litre to 4-litre Class Awards.
The 68 judges who vote in the International Engine of the Year Awards (IEOTY) also voted for the ‘Best of the Best’ engines from the long-running competition’s history – and the 488 Pista received a special nomination here, too. “In the 488 GTB, the 3.9-litre eight-cylinder was a near-perfect example of a high-performance turbocharged engine, setting the bar so high that it swept aside rival powertrains,” said Dean Slavnich, co-chairman of the IEOTY Awards.
“But redeveloped and tweaked for the 488 Pista, the best engine in the world just got better. Without doubt, we’re looking at an engineering masterclass from Ferrari. No turbo lag, beautiful delivery, raw emotion, a furious growl and so much power – this Ferrari V8 is a work of art.” Ferrari rounded out its record-breaking year in the awards with the 800-horsepower 6.5-litre V12 in the 812 Superfast taking another two IEOTY Awards: it was judged Best New Engine and the finest Above 4-litre powerplant.
