In-line engine, V engine, boxer engine, W engine, Wankel engine: what is there?

If you are interested in the topic of cars, and in particular in vehicles with combustion engines, then the terms appear in-line engine, V engine, Boxer engine, W engine or rotary engine again and again. But what is there actually? We have a list for you with the various "common" engine designs in vehicles with a combustion engine under the hood. What motor designs are there? What are the types of internal combustion engines?

The classic is the in-line engine!

It can be recognized by the combustion chambers arranged linearly next to each other. This design is the most frequently installed motor. The engine design scores with simple fuel and exhaust gas routing, which makes it cheap and it is compact. Some manufacturers, such as BMW or Volvo, have modular engine families. Identical engine blocks are supplemented with additional units. It is easily possible to integrate charging components such as a turbocharger. There are in-line engines with different numbers of cylinders. Fiat even has only two cylinders. Up to six cylinders can be installed in series. Between two and six there is any number. There were also more cylinders, but such engines did not make it into mass production.

The compact V engine!

In this type of engine, all cylinders are connected to a crankshaft. Every second cylinder, i.e. half of the cylinders, is arranged at an angle. Seen in cross-section, the result is the eponymous V-shape. have V engines 6, 8 or 12 cylinders. Due to the arrangement of the cylinders, they are accommodated in a very space-saving manner. Otherwise, the cylinder banks are at a 90° angle to each other, which makes two cylinder heads necessary. There is a special form VR engine. It combines the best of the V engine, the short design, with the best of the in-line engine, the narrow width. The angle of the cylinder banks is 10° to each other, which allows the pistons to be staggered and fed with one cylinder head. Lancia developed the VR engine. And Volkswagen implemented it in the 90s.

The smooth-running boxer engine!

The two banks of cylinders face each other in boxer engines. The pistons run in opposite directions on a cylinder bank. Working in opposite directions balances out the mass forces of the piston movement, which ensures extremely smooth running. This type of construction is very flat, which makes it possible to have a low center of gravity in the vehicle. The disadvantage is that the complex construction increases the manufacturing costs. Boxer engines are particularly common in Porsche and Subaru.

The exclusive W engine!

As a rule, three banks of cylinders lead off the crankshaft of the W engine. So it's like a V-engine with a vertical additional cylinder bank. The design enables a short crankshaft to supply several cylinders. However, the design is very complex and the exhaust gas routing is often a problem. These problems have ensured that the W engine is currently no longer used.

The W12 Bentley engine!

The Volkswagen Group markets a special engine as W engine, which has a crankshaft from which four cylinder banks branch off. You could also say that two VR motors are connected at right angles, i.e. 90°. He will too V-VR engine called. It can be found in the VW Passat B5 with 8 cylinders (W8), in the VW Phaeton W12, in the Audi A8 W12 and in various Bentleys with 12 cylinders as well as in the Bugatti with 16 cylinders.

The rare rotary engine!

The rotary engine has an extremely exotic design. There are no cylindrical combustion chambers where the pistons go up and down. But there is a double-arched housing in which a bulbous triangular rotor moves eccentrically around the crankshaft. Through the movement, the rotor releases cavities of different sizes in which the Otto engine can perform its four strokes. This design will also rotary engine called. It scores with an extremely smooth running. The disadvantage is that the consumption is sometimes high, and the Wankel engine also likes to swallow oil. The last rotary engine was installed in the Mazda RX-8. However, the latest rumors from the Internet give hope for a revival of the interesting design.

The radial engine!

The radial engine is also a type of internal combustion engine. It is used on airplanes. Here, the cylinders and pistons are arranged in a star shape around the crankshaft. The number of cylinders in a cylinder star is never even in four-stroke engines. This is because each cylinder in a four-stroke engine is only fired every two revolutions. A consistent firing sequence, which is required for the engine to run smoothly and without vibration, can only be achieved with odd numbers of cylinders. Another advantage of odd numbers of cylinders is the higher stability of the crankcase. It results from the fact that if there is an odd number of cylinders, there is a housing wall opposite each cylinder bore. The resulting overlap enables structural advantages. This means that the housing is stiffer than with an even number of cylinders, even without additional measures. Series vehicles with a radial engine do not exist. There were a few radial engines in some Beetle prototypes from 1936 and in various Conversions.

Of course, that wasn't the end of it!

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