Fresh from an unprecedented third successive International Engine of the Year award, Ford has claimed its minuscule lump, the critically acclaimed 1.0-litre EcoBoost, as Europe's best-selling turbocharged petrol engine for the first six months of the year.

The blue oval revealed that one in every five vehicles sold in Europe was equipped with a 1.0-litre EcoBoost - an engine block small enough to fit on a sheet of A4 paper.

From January through June 2014, Ford sold approximately 120,000 vehicles equipped with the 1.0-litre EcoBoost lump, compared to 104,000 during the same period in 2013 - an increase of more than 15 percent.

For the first half of 2014, 1.0-litre EcoBoost models made up 47 percent of all B-MAX multi-activity vehicles sold, 33 percent of Focus sales, and 30 percent of Fiesta sales.

Already available with power outputs of 98bhp and 123bhp, Ford recently debuted a new 138bhp version of Europe's best-selling sub 1.0-litre power unit with the new Fiesta Red Edition and Fiesta Black Edition models - the most powerful volume production 1.0-litre road cars ever.

"Customers are clearly enjoying the benefits from a small engine that offers great fuel efficiency with no compromise to refinement or performance. The range of models offering the 1.0-litre EcoBoost engine will rise to 11 when the all new Mondeo is launched in the coming months, and the new 138bhp version in the Fiesta Red Edition and Black Edition shows there is even more potential," remarked Barb Samardzich, Chief Operating Officer, Ford of Europe.

Just in June this year the 1.0-litre EcoBoost engine was conferred, for the third time, with the International Engine of the Year award for its drivability, performance, economy, refinement and technology - fighting off competition from premium brands and supercars.