automotive engineering Automotive engineering, along with aerospace engineering and naval architecture, is a branch of vehicle engineering, incorporating elements of mechanical, electrical, electronic, software, and safety engineering as applied to the design, manufactu ...

, a longitudinal engine is an

internal combustion engine An internal combustion engine (ICE or IC engine) is a heat engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer (usually air) in a combustion chamber that is an integral part of the working fluid flow circuit. In an internal combus ...

in which the

crankshaft A crankshaft is a mechanical component used in a piston engine to convert the reciprocating motion into rotational motion. The crankshaft is a rotating shaft containing one or more crankpins, that are driven by the pistons via the connecting ...

is oriented along the long axis of the

vehicle A vehicle (from la, vehiculum) is a machine that transports people or cargo. Vehicles include wagons, bicycles, motor vehicles (motorcycles, cars, trucks, buses, mobility scooters for disabled people), railed vehicles (trains, trams), wa ...

, from front to back.

Use

This type of motor is usually used for rear-wheel drive cars, except for some

Audi Audi AG () is a German automotive manufacturer of luxury vehicles headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. As a subsidiary of its parent company, the Volkswagen Group, Audi produces vehicles in nine production facilities worldwide. Th ...

, SAAB, the

Oldsmobile Toronado The Oldsmobile Toronado is a personal luxury car manufactured and marketed by the Oldsmobile division of General Motors from 1966 to 1992 over four generations. The Toronado was noted for its transaxle version of GM's Turbo-Hydramatic transmission ...

, and the 1967 Cadillac Eldorado equipped with longitudinal engines in front wheel drive. In front-wheel drive cars a

transverse engine A transverse engine is an engine mounted in a vehicle so that the engine's crankshaft axis is perpendicular to the direction of travel. Many modern front-wheel drive vehicles use this engine mounting configuration. Most rear-wheel drive vehicles ...

is usually used. Trucks often have longitudinal engines with rear-wheel drive. For motorcycles, the use of a particular type depends on the drive: in the case of a chain or belt drive a transverse engine is usually used, and with shaft drives a longitudinal engine. Longitudinal engines in motorcycles do have one disadvantage: the "tipping point" of the crankshaft tilts along the entire motorcycle to a greater or lesser degree when accelerating. This is partly resolved by having other components, such as the generator and the gearbox, rotate in the opposite direction to the crankshaft. Most larger, "premium" vehicles use this engine orientation, both front and

rear wheel drive Rear-wheel drive (RWD) is a form of engine and transmission layout used in motor vehicles, in which the engine drives the rear wheels only. Until the late 20th century, rear-wheel drive was the most common configuration for cars. Most rear-wheel ...

n, because powerful engines such as the inline-6 and 90° big-bore V8 are usually too long to fit in a FF transverse engine bay, while most mainstream modern vehicles use front wheel drive along with a transverse engine arrangement. Cars with longitudinal engines usually have a smaller minimum turning circle than those with transverse engines. This is because there is more space to the sides of the engine, allowing deeper wheel arches so the front wheels are able to turn through a greater angle. In the late 1960s, GM divisions Oldsmobile and Cadillac had front-wheel drive models Toronado and

Eldorado El Dorado (, ; Spanish for "the golden"), originally ''El Hombre Dorado'' ("The Golden Man") or ''El Rey Dorado'' ("The Golden King"), was the term used by the Spanish in the 16th century to describe a mythical tribal chief (''zipa'') or king o ...

respectively, with a longitudinal V8 engine and an integrated automatic transmission and differential unit powering the front wheels. Honda and Toyota also offered front-wheel drive cars with longitudinal engines, namely Honda Vigor, Acura/Honda Legend/RL, and Toyota Tercel.

Common types

This is a list of typical examples of types of engines which can be placed in motor vehicles: * In-line or straight engine – where

two 2 (two) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 1 and preceding 3. It is the smallest and only even prime number. Because it forms the basis of a duality, it has religious and spiritual significance in many cultur ...

, three,

four 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smallest c ...

five 5 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 5, five or number 5 may also refer to: * AD 5, the fifth year of the AD era * 5 BC, the fifth year before the AD era Literature * ''5'' (visual novel), a 2008 visual novel by Ram * ''5'' (comics), an awa ...

six 6 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 6 or six may also refer to: * AD 6, the sixth year of the AD era * 6 BC, the sixth year before the AD era * The month of June Science * Carbon, the element with atomic number 6 * 6 Hebe, an asteroid People ...

, and even

eight 8 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 8 or eight may also refer to: Years * AD 8, the eighth year of the AD era * 8 BC, the eighth year before the AD era Art *The Eight (Ashcan School), a group of twentieth century painters associated with the As ...

cylinders are placed in a single plane. *

V engine A V engine, sometimes called a Vee engine, is a common configuration for internal combustion engines. It consists of two cylinder banks—usually with the same number of cylinders in each bank—connected to a common crankshaft. These cylinder b ...

– where

ten Ten, TEN or 10 may refer to: * 10, an even natural number following 9 and preceding 11 * one of the years 10 BC, AD 10, 1910 and 2010 * October, the tenth month of the year Places * Mount Ten, in Vietnam * Tongren Fenghuang Airport (IATA code ...

, twelve, or even sixteen cylinders are placed in two separate planes, looking like a "V" when viewed from the end of the crankshaft. * Flat or boxer engine – where

or more cylinders are arranged in two diametrically horizontally opposed planes. * W engine – where two (narrow angle) vee engines are siamesed together (within 180°), where at

, twelve or sixteen cylinders are arranged in four separate planes.

References

{{reflist, colwidth=50em, refs= {{cite book , last1=Pickerill , first1=Ken , editor1-last=Main , editor1-first=Larry , title=Automotive Engine Performance , edition=5th , series=Today's Technician , date=Jun 26, 2009 , publisher=Cengage Learning , location=Clifton Park, NY USA , isbn=978-1-43544-520-8 , page=464 , chapter=Glossary , quote=Longitudinal engine mounting An engine mounted lengthways in the chassis. {{cite book , first1=James E. , last1=Duffy , first2=Robert , last2=Scharff , editor1-last= Clark , editor1-first=Sandy , title=Auto Body Repair Technology , edition=4th , date=Mar 1, 2003 , orig-year=1988 , publisher=Cengage Learning , location=Clifton Park, NY USA , isbn=0-7668-6272-0 , pages=25–26 , chapter=Chapter 2: Vehicle Construction Technology , quote=A longitudinal engine mounts the crankshaft centerline front to rear when viewed from the top. Engine technology Automotive technologies