Motor medallist

HOW does one create the recipe for an International Engine of the Year award? For McLaren, it's easy - just mix two turbos with eight cylinders, throw in a flat-pane crankshaft, then add lots of power and an unusual amount of fuel efficiency.

The result is the M838T engine, a 3.8-litre twin turbo V8 petrol engine designed and developed together with the Ricardo engineering company. It won the 2015 Engine of the Year award in the "3-litre to 4-litre" category for the third straight year this year.

The M838T powers the McLaren 650S and, as the name of the mid-engined sports model suggests, it produces 650 hp. A massive 678 Newton-metres of torque is available to power the 1,370kg carbon fibre/aluminium two-seater from zero to 100 kmh in just 3.0 seconds. From a standing start to 200kmh, it takes 8.6 seconds, or faster than most cars on the road can go from zero to 100.