A small petrol engine that powers Ford cars including the new Fiesta has fought off competition from premium brands and supercars to win the “Oscars” of the engine world for an unprecedented third time in a row.

Ford Motor Company’s 1.0-liter EcoBoost engine – which lowers fuel consumption without sacrificing power – was named 2014 International Engine of the Year for its drivability, performance, economy, refinement and technology.

A panel of 82 automotive journalists from 35 countries also named the 1.0-liter EcoBoost the “Best Engine Under 1.0-liter” for the third year in a row at the Engine Expo 2014, in Stuttgart.

“To deliver the complete package of eye-popping fuel economy, surprising performance, quietness and refinement we knew this little 1.0-liter engine would have to be a game changer,” said Bob Fascetti, vice president, Ford Powertrain Engineering. “Through our One Ford approach to development, EcoBoost continues to set the benchmark for power combined with fuel efficiency from a small petrol engine.”

The engine has now won 13 major awards. In addition to collecting seven International Engine of the Year awards in three years – including Best New Engine in 2012 – the 1.0-liter EcoBoost also has been awarded the International Paul Pietsch Award 2013 for technological innovation in Germany; theDewar Trophy from the Royal Automobile Club in Great Britain; and in the U.S., the Breakthrough Award from Popular Mechanics magazine.Ford also is the first automaker to win a Ward’s 10 Best Engines trophy for a three-cylinder engine.

“This year’s competition was the fiercest yet, but the 1.0-liter EcoBoost continues to stand out for all the right reasons – great refinement, surprising flexibility and excellent efficiency,” said Dean Slavnich, co-chairman of the 16th International Engine of the Year awards and editor of Engine Technology International magazine. “The 1.0-liter EcoBoost engine is one of the finest examples of powertrain engineering.”

Launched in Europe in 2012 with the Ford Focus, the 1.0-liter EcoBoost is now available in a further nine vehicles: Fiesta, B-MAX, EcoSport, C-MAX and Grand C-MAX, Tourneo Connect, Tourneo Courier, Transit Connect and Transit Courier.

The all-new Mondeo will continue the European roll-out of the 1.0-liter EcoBoost engine when it launches later this year;the smallest engine to be specified in such a large family car.

Already available with 100 PS and 125 PS, Ford recently debuted a new 140 PS version of the engine in the new Fiesta Red Edition and Fiesta Black Edition models; the most powerful volume production 1.0-liter road cars ever, achieving 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) in 9 seconds, a top speed of 201 km/h (125 mph) and delivering 4.5 l/100 km (62.8 mpg) and 104 g/km CO2.

Ford 1.0-liter EcoBoost-equipped vehicles now account for one in five of all Ford cars sold in Ford’s 20 traditional European markets. For the first five months of 2014 the markets where 1.0-liter EcoBoost proved most popular were theNetherlands (38 per cent of all cars bought), followed by Denmark (37 per cent) and Finland (33 per cent).

Ford’s European facilities in Cologne, Germany and Craiova, Romania, produce a new EcoBoost engine every 42 seconds and recently passed the 500,000 unit milestone.

“Three years have gone and many new three-cylinder engines have appeared, but the Ford 1.0-liter EcoBoost is still the best,” said Massimo Nascimbene, juror and writer, Italy.

Ford vehicles equipped with the 1.0-liter EcoBoost engine are now available in 72 countries worldwide. Customers in the U.S.will later this year be able to buy the new Focus 1.0-liter EcoBoost,with the Fiesta 1.0-liter EcoBoost in dealerships now.

Ford recently began production of the 1.0-liter EcoBoost in Chongqing, China,supporting demand in Asia Pacific. For the first quarter of 2014more than a third of new Fiesta buyers in Vietnam chose the1.0-liter EcoBoost engine.

“The success of the 1.0-liter EcoBoost engine has simply snowballed. Since launch we have now extended availability through the range of Ford vehicles and through markets worldwide to set a new global benchmark in powertrain engineering that delivers a direct benefit to customers –both in terms of fuel efficiency and performance,” said Barb Samardzich, chief operating officer, Ford of Europe.

More than 200 engineers and designers from Ford’s research and development centres in Aachen and Merkenich, Germany, and Dagenham and Dunton, U.K., spent more than five million hours developing the 1.0-liter EcoBoost engine.

The engine’s compact, low-inertia turbocharger spins at up to 248,000 rpm – more than 4,000 times per second and almost twice the maximum rpm of the turbochargers powering 2014 F1 race car engines.

The 140 PS 1.0-liter EcoBoost engine’s turbocharger delivers 1.6 bar (24 psi) of boost pressure. Peak firing pressure of 124 bar (1,800 psi) equates to afive-tonneAfrican elephant standing on the piston.

With a cast iron engine block small enough to fit in the overhead luggage compartment of an aeroplane, the engine also features an aluminium cylinder head with an integrated exhaust manifold that lowers exhaust temperatures for optimised the fuel-to-air ratio. An innovative flywheel and front pulley design delivers improved refinement compared with traditional 3-cylinder engine designs.

Engine friction is reduced by specially coated pistons, low tension piston rings, low friction crank seals and a cam-belt-in-oil design. A variable displacement oil pump tailors lubrication to demand and optimises oil pressure, for improved fuel efficiency.

“The 1.0-liter EcoBoost was created as a radicalsmaller-displacement engine to meet the biggest automotive challenge in the world – no compromise refinement, performance and great fuel economy,” said Andrew Fraser, manager, Gasoline Calibration, Ford of Europe. “The secret to EcoBoost success is a range of innovative technologies that deliver big car benefits from a small engine.”