Choosing the world’s greatest powerplants is a task that falls to the increased International Engine of the Year Awards 2005 jury, which now includes 57 of the world’s most respected motoring journalists from 27 countries. The Awards, which are in their seventh year, have become a valuable marketing tool - Mazda, for example, heavily promoted its International Engine of the Year Awards success when it launched the RX-8 with its acclaimed rotary powerplant. The big question in 2005 is can Toyota’s clean and frugal Prius hybrid hang on to its coveted International Engine of the Year Awards title? The Japanese green machine, which last year topped four of the 12 categories including taking the overall prize, is facing tough competition from almost 60 new engines that have come to market in the last 12 months.

It is a fact that the majority of the new contenders target speed, not environmental awareness - over a third of the new entries for 2005 are performance-orientated, while under a sixth of them are eligible for the Best Fuel Economy category.