The jury of the International Engine of the Year Awards has elected the 1.3 litre MultiJet turbodiesel engine produced by Fiat and GM as International Engine of the Year 2005 in the 1.0-1.4-litre category.

The Fiat-GM 1.3 diesel engine won the award ahead of the Honda 1.3 litre IMA, Peugeot-Citroen/Ford Diesel 1.4 litre, Volkswagen 1.4 litre FSI, Toyota Diesel 1.4 litre, and Daihatsu 1.3 litre engines. The International Engine of the Year jury, which comprises 56 of the world’s most respected motoring journalists from 26 countries in the world, judged every single engine in mass-production that is installed in a car on sale in more than one country. The list included almost 60 new engines that have come to market in the last 12 months.

The 1.3 Polish-built common rail diesel engine features MultiJet technology that was developed at the Fiat Research Centre. MultiJet uses electronic control to divide the main injection into several smaller ones to achieve quieter combustion, reduced emissions and increased performance. Low weight is a further asset of this 70 bhp, 170 Nm engine. And it is compact too, which means it can be installed in a wide variety of vehicles. This versatility found favour with the judges.

In accepting the Award yesterday in Stuttgart (Germany), Paolo Ferrero, Director of Product Engineering, Fiat Powertrain Italia, said: "With an output of 405,000 units in 2004, the 1.3 diesel engine represents a new chapter in diesel engine technology, pioneered by Fiat."