Of the 180 honors doled out over the 18-year history of Ward’s 10 Best Engines, half marked consecutive wins. Of that number, 89 were unencumbered by electric motors.
For ’11, BMW upped output by adding direct injection and double VANOS to the naturally-aspirated 4-cyl., plus Valvetronic and a new twin-scroll turbocharger to the S version.
“There's a lot of love and passion in the company and the customer base around the 5.0L engine,” Harrison says, “and we have wanted to do one for years.”