Porsche’s direct injection 3.8-litre flat six has taken ‘Best New Engine of the Year’ at the 2009 International Engine of the Year awards.

The engine fitted to the Gen2 997 is the first all-new 911 flat-six since Porsche debuted water cooling with the ‘GT1’ block in 1998 and was commended by the judges for managing to attain an increase in power through greater capacity while achieving reduced fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions.

Porsche’s new engine beat BMW’s 3-litre ‘30d’ suffix diesel and petrol 4.4-litre turbo V8, Jaguar’s supercharged V8, Mercedes’ BlueEfficiency diesels and Audi’s 2-litre TFSI motor, which appears in the GTI.

Explaining the decision, judging panel member Marc Noordeloos of Automobile magazine said, ‘Leave it to Porsche to build a near-400bhp engine that returns such impressive fuel economy. Enthusiasts should take comfort in the fact that the naturally aspirated engine may not be dying after all.’

We couldn’t agree more.

Overall winner of the 2009 award was VW’s 1.4-litre twin-charged motor, set to make its performance debut later this year in the new Ibiza FR and Cupra, while ‘Performance Engine of the Year’ and ‘Above 4-litre’ honours both went to Mercedes’ AMG 6.2 –litre V8.

Results in full:

2009 Engine of the Year: VAG 1.4-litre Twincharger (Golf, Scirocco, Ibiza FR/Cupra)

Best New Engine of the Year: Porsche 3.8-litre flat-six (911)

Green Engine of the Year: VAG 1.4-litre Twincharger (Golf, Scirocco, Ibiza FR/Cupra)

Best Performance Engine: Mercedes 6.2-litre AMG V8 (SL63, E63 etc)

Sub 1-litre: Toyota three-cylinder 993cc (Aygo)

1-litre to 1.4-litre: VAG 1.4-litre Twincharger (Golf, Scirocco, Ibiza FR/Cupra)

1.4-litre to 1.8-litre: BMW-PSA 1.6-litre turbo (Mini Cooper S, Peugeot 207)

1.8-litre to 2-litre: VAG 2-litre TFSI (Golf GTI, Scirocco, Audi TT)

2-litre to 2.5-litre: Mercedes 2.1-litre diesel (BlueEfficiency E-Class and C-Class)

2.5-litre to 3-litre: BMW 3-litre twin-turbo diesel (335d, 535d etc)

3-litre to 4-litre: BMW 4-litre V8 (M3)

Above 4-litre: Mercedes 6.2-litre AMG V8 (SL63, E63 etc)