![IC engine](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/10/IC_engine.JPG)
A V6 engine is a six-
cylinder
A cylinder (from ) has traditionally been a three-dimensional solid, one of the most basic of curvilinear geometric shapes. In elementary geometry, it is considered a prism with a circle as its base.
A cylinder may also be defined as an infin ...
piston engine
A reciprocating engine, also often known as a piston engine, is typically a heat engine that uses one or more reciprocating pistons to convert high temperature and high pressure into a rotating motion. This article describes the common featu ...
where the cylinders share a common
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 ...
and are arranged in a
V configuration.
![V6-Typical](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8b/V6-Typical.gif)
The first V6 engines were designed and produced independently by
Marmon Motor Car Company
Marmon Motor Car Company was an American automobile manufacturer founded by Howard Carpenter Marmon and owned by Nordyke Marmon & Company of Indianapolis, Indiana, US. It produced luxury automobiles from 1902 to 1933.
It was established in 190 ...
,
Deutz Gasmotoren Fabrik
Deutz AG is a German internal combustion engine manufacturer, based in Porz, Cologne, Germany.
History
The company was founded by Nicolaus Otto, the inventor of the four-stroke internal combustion engine, and his partner Eugen Langen on 31 ...
and
Delahaye
Delahaye was a family-owned automobile manufacturing company, founded by Émile Delahaye in 1894 in Tours, France. Manufacturing was moved to Paris following incorporation with two unrelated brothers-in-law as equal partners in 1898. The compa ...
. Engines built after World War II include the
Lancia V6 engine
In 1950, Lancia introduced one of the world's first production V6 engines in the Lancia Aurelia. The engine was the work of Francesco De Virgilio and was developed to solve the vibration problems Lancia had experienced with its V4 engines. This ...
in 1950 for the
Lancia Aurelia
The Lancia Aurelia is a car produced by Italian manufacturer Lancia from 1950 to the summer of 1958. It is noted for using one of the first series-production V6 engines.
Several body styles were offered: 4-door saloon, 2-door GT coupé (B20), ...
,
and the
Buick V6 engine
The Buick V6, popularly referred to as the 3800 in its later incarnations, originally and initially marketed as ''Fireball'' at its introduction in 1962, was a large V6 engine used by General Motors. The block is made of cast iron and all use two ...
in 1962 for the
Buick Special
The Buick Special was an automobile produced by Buick. It was usually Buick's lowest-priced model, starting out as a full-size car in 1936 and returning in 1961 (after a two-year hiatus) as a mid-size. The Special was built for several decades and ...
. The V6 layout has become the most common layout for six-cylinder automotive engines.
Design
Due to their short length, V6 engines are often used as the larger engine option for vehicles which are otherwise produced with inline-four engines, especially in
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 ...
vehicles. A downside for
luxury cars
A luxury car is a car that provides increased levels of comfort, equipment, amenities, quality, performance, and associated status compared to moderately priced cars.
The term is subjective and reflects both the qualities of the car and the ...
is that V6 engines produce more vibrations than
straight-six engine
The straight-six engine (also referred to as an inline-six engine; abbreviated I6 or L6) is a piston engine with six cylinders arranged in a straight line along the crankshaft. A straight-six engine has perfect primary and secondary engine bala ...
s. Some sports cars use
flat-six engine
A flat-six engine, also known as a horizontally opposed-six, is a six-cylinder piston engine with three cylinders on each side of a central crankshaft. The most common type of flat-six engine is the boxer-six engine, where each pair of opposed c ...
s instead of V6 engines, due to their lower
centre of gravity
In physics, the center of mass of a distribution of mass in space (sometimes referred to as the balance point) is the unique point where the weighted relative position of the distributed mass sums to zero. This is the point to which a force may ...
(which improves the
handling).
The displacement of modern V6 engines is typically between , though larger and smaller examples have been produced, such as the
Mazda V6 used in the 1991–1998
Mazda MX-3
The Mazda MX-3 is a four-seat coupé front wheel drive manufactured and marketed by Mazda, introduced at the Geneva Auto Show#1991, Geneva Auto Show in March 1991 and marketed for model years 1992–1998.
The MX-3 was also marketed as the Mazda ...
, or the
Mitsubishi V6 engine used in the 1992–1998
Mirage
A mirage is a naturally-occurring optical phenomenon in which light rays bend via refraction to produce a displaced image of distant objects or the sky. The word comes to English via the French ''(se) mirer'', from the Latin ''mirari'', meanin ...
/
Lancer
A lancer was a type of cavalryman who fought with a lance. Lances were used for mounted warfare in Assyria as early as and subsequently by Persia, India, Egypt, China, Greece, and Rome. The weapon was widely used throughout Eurasia during the M ...
, while the largest V6 built was the
GMC V6 used in the 1962
GMC C/K series 6500.
Balance and smoothness
All V6 engines with even firing spacing—regardless of the V-angle between the cylinder banks—are subject to a primary imbalance caused by each bank consisting of an
inline-three engine
A straight-three engine (also called an inline-triple or inline-three) is a three-cylinder piston engine where cylinders are arranged in a line along a common crankshaft.
Less common than straight-four engines, straight-three engines have noneth ...
, due to the odd number of cylinders in each bank. Straight-six engines and flat-six engines do not experience this imbalance. To reduce the vibrations caused by this imbalance, most V6 engines use a
harmonic damper
A harmonic damper is a device fitted to the free (accessory drive) end of the crankshaft of an internal combustion engine to counter torsional and resonance vibrations from the crankshaft. This device must be interference fit to the crankshaft in ...
on the crankshaft and/or a counter-rotating
balance shaft
Balance shafts are used in piston engines to reduce vibration by cancelling out unbalanced dynamic forces. The counter balance shafts have eccentric weights and rotate in opposite direction to each other, which generates a net vertical force.
Th ...
.
Six-cylinder designs have less pulsation in the power delivery than four-cylinder engines, due to the overlap in the power strokes of the six-cylinder engine. In a four-cylinder engine, only one piston is on a power stroke at any given time. Each piston comes to a complete stop and reverses direction before the next one starts its power stroke, which results in a gap between power strokes, especially at lower engine speeds (RPM). In a six-cylinder engine with an even firing interval, the next piston starts its power stroke 60° before the previous one finishes, which results in smoother delivery of power to the flywheel.
Comparing engines on a dynamometer, a V6 engine shows instantaneous torque peaks of 154% above mean torque and valleys of 139% below mean torque, with a small amount of negative torque (engine torque reversals) between power strokes. In the case of a four-cylinder engine, the peaks are approximately 270% above mean torque and 210% below mean torque, with 100% negative torque being delivered between strokes. However, a V6 with uneven firing intervals of 90° and 150° shows large torque variations of 185% above and 172% below mean torque.
Cylinder bank angles
10 to 15 degrees
![Klepbediening VR6 24V](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c6/Klepbediening_VR6_24V.PNG)
Since 1991, Volkswagen has produced narrow angle ''VR6'' engines with V-angles of 10.5 and 15 degrees. These engines use a single cylinder head shared by both banks of cylinders, in a design similar to the 1922-1976
Lancia V4 engine
Italian automobile company Lancia was the first to manufacture cars with V4 and V6 engines in series-production. This started with a number of V4-engine families, that were produced from the 1920s through 1970s.
The Lancia V4 pioneered the narr ...
. The VR6 engines were used in
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 ...
front-wheel drive cars which were originally designed for inline-four engines. Due to the minimal extra length and width of the VR6 engine, it could be fitted to the engine compartments relatively easily, in order to provide a displacement increase of 50 percent.
Since there is no room in the V between the cylinder banks for an intake system, all the intakes are on one side of the engine, and all the exhausts are on the other side. It uses a firing order of 1-5-3-6-2-4 (which is the firing order used by most straight-six engines), rather than the common V6 firing order of 1-2-3-4-5-6 or 1-6-5-4-3-2.
60 degrees
![Toyota 1GR-FE 4](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b6/Toyota_1GR-FE_4.0_Litre_V6_Engine.jpg)
A V-angle of 60 degrees is the optimal configuration for V6 engines regarding engine balance.
When individual
crank pin
A crankpin or crank pin, also known as a rod bearing journal, is a mechanical device in an engine which connects the crankshaft to the connecting rod for each cylinder. It has a cylindrical surface, to allow the crankpin to rotate relative to t ...
s are used for each cylinder (i.e. using a six-throw crankshaft), an even firing interval of 120 degrees can be used. This firing interval is a multiple of the 60 degree V-angle, therefore the combustion forces can be balanced through use of the appropriate
firing order
The firing order of an internal combustion engine is the sequence of ignition for the cylinders.
In a spark ignition (e.g. gasoline/petrol) engine, the firing order corresponds to the order in which the spark plugs are operated. In a diesel engi ...
.
The inline-three engine that forms each cylinder bank, however, produces unbalanced rotating and reciprocal forces. These forces remain unbalanced in all V6 engines, often leading to the use of a
balance shaft
Balance shafts are used in piston engines to reduce vibration by cancelling out unbalanced dynamic forces. The counter balance shafts have eccentric weights and rotate in opposite direction to each other, which generates a net vertical force.
Th ...
to reduce the vibration.
The 1950 Lancia V6 engine was pioneering in its use of a six-throw crankshaft in order to reduce vibration. More recent designs often use a three-throw crankshaft with 'flying arms' between the crankpins to allow an even firing interval of 120 degrees to be achieved. A pair of counterweights on the crankshaft can then be used to almost perfectly cancel out the primary forces
and reduce the secondary vibrations to acceptable levels.
The engine mounts can be designed to absorb these remaining vibrations.
A 60 degree V-angle results in a narrower engine overall than V6 engines with larger V-angles. This angle often results in the overall engine size being a cube shape, making the engine easier to fit either longitudinally or transversely in the engine compartment.
90 degrees
![ZS KV6](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6c/ZS_KV6.jpg)
Many manufacturers, particularly American ones, built V6 engines with a V-angle of 90 degrees based on their existing 90-degree V8 engines. Such configurations were easy to design by removing two cylinders and replacing the V8 engine's four-throw crankshaft with a three-throw crankshaft. This reduced design costs, allowed the new V6 to share components with the V8 engine, and sometimes allowed manufacturers to build the V6 and V8 engines on the same production line.
The downsides of a 90 degree design are a wider engine which is more vibration-prone than a 60 degree V6. The initial 90 degree V6 engines (such as the
Buick Fireball V6 engine) had three shared crankpins arranged at 120 degrees from each other, due to their origins from the V8 engines. This resulted in an uneven firing order, with half of the cylinders using a firing interval of 90 degrees and other half using an interval of 150 degrees. The uneven firing intervals resulted in rough-running engines with "unpleasant" vibrations at low engine speeds.
Several modern 90 degree V6 engines reduce the vibrations using split crankpins offset by 30 degrees between piston pairs, which creates an even firing interval of 120 degrees for all cylinders.
For example, the 1977
Buick 231 "even-fire" V6 engine was an upgraded version of the Buick Fireball engine with a split-pin crankshaft to reduce vibration by achieving an even firing order.
Such a 'split' crankpin is weaker than a straight one, but modern
metallurgical techniques can produce a crankshaft that is adequately strong.
A balance shaft and/or crankshaft counterweights can be used to reduce vibrations in 90 degree V6 engines.
120 degrees
At first glance, 120 degrees might seem to be the optimal V-angle for a V6 engine, since pairs of pistons in alternate banks can share crank pins in a three-throw crankshaft and the combustion forces are balanced by the firing interval being equal to the angle between the cylinder banks. A 120 degree configuration, unlike the 60 degree or 90 degree configurations, would not require crankshafts with flying arms, split crankpins, or seven main bearings to be even-firing. However, the primary imbalance caused by odd number of cylinders in each bank still remains in a 120 degree V6 engine. This differs from the perfect balance achieved by a 90 degree V8 engine with a commonly used
crossplane crankshaft, because the inline-four engine in each bank of the V8 engine does not have this primary imbalance.
A 120 degree design also results in a large width for the engine, being only slightly narrower than a
flat-six engine
A flat-six engine, also known as a horizontally opposed-six, is a six-cylinder piston engine with three cylinders on each side of a central crankshaft. The most common type of flat-six engine is the boxer-six engine, where each pair of opposed c ...
(which does not have the balance problems of the V6 engine). Therefore, the flat-six engine has been used in various automobiles, whereas use of the 120 degree V6 engine has been limited to a few truck and racing car engines, with the exception of McLaren Automotive's M630 V6 engine, which uses a 120 degree bank angle with a single balance shaft to eliminate all primary couples. The McLaren M630 engine also takes advantage of the wide angle by placing the turbochargers inside the vee, commonly referred to as a 'hot vee' configuration. The Ferrari 296 GTB is the first Ferrari road car to sport a V6 turbo with a vee angle of 120 degrees between the cylinder banks.
Other angles
Other angle V6 engines are possible but can suffer from severe vibration problems unless very carefully designed. Notable V-angles include:
* 45 degrees —
EMD 567
The EMD 567 is a line of large medium-speed diesel engines built by Electro-Motive Diesel, General Motors' Electro-Motive Division. This engine, which succeeded Winton Motor Carriage Company, Winton's 201A, was used in EMD's locomotives from 193 ...
and
EMD 645
The EMD 645 is a family of diesel engines that was designed and manufactured by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors. While the 645 series was intended primarily for locomotive, marine and stationary engine use, one 16-cylinder versio ...
locomotive, marine and stationary Diesel engines. These engines were based on V8 and V16 engines which also used a V-angle of 45 degrees.
* 54 degrees — 1994-2004
General Motors 54-degree automotive engine. A slightly smaller than usual V-angle was used to reduce the width of the engine, allowing it to be used in small transverse-engine front-wheel drive cars.
* 65 degrees — 1956-1975
Ferrari Dino
Dino () was a marque best known for mid-engined, rear-drive sports cars produced by Ferrari from 1957 to 1976. The marque came into existence in late 1956 with a front-engined Formula Two racer powered by a brand new '' Dino'' V6 engine. The name ...
automobile engine. The V-angle was increased from the then-common 60 degree angle to allow larger carburetors to be used (for potentially higher power in race tuning). Crankpins with an offset of 55 degrees within every pair of cylinders were used to achieve the even firing interval of a 60 degree V6 engine. The 2009–present
Nissan-Renault V9X automobile engine also used a 65 degree bank angle, to allow a turbocharger to fit between the cylinder banks.
* 72 degrees —
Mercedes-Benz OM642 BlueTEC diesel engine. This engine uses crank pins offset by 48 degrees, to achieve an even firing interval.
* 75 degrees — 1992-2004
Isuzu V engine
The Isuzu V engine is a family of all-aluminum 75° V6 gasoline engines produced by Isuzu. They feature either a belt-driven SOHC or DOHC valvetrain. Later versions feature direct ignition as well as gasoline direct injection. These engines ...
used in the
Isuzu Rodeo
The Isuzu Rodeo is an automotive nameplate that was used by the Japanese automobile manufacturer Isuzu between 1988 and 2004. Isuzu has utilized the "Rodeo" name on two different vehicles—a compact pickup truck sold in Japan—and a midsize SU ...
and
Isuzu Trooper
The Isuzu Trooper is a full-size SUV that was produced by the Japanese automaker Isuzu between 1981 and 2007. In the domestic Japanese market it was sold as the Isuzu Bighorn, the car was exported internationally mainly as a Trooper but it also ...
. These engines were produced in both SOHC and DOHC versions. A 75 degree V6 engine is also used by the 2016–2022
Honda NSX
The Honda NSX, marketed in North America as the Acura NSX, is a two-seat, mid-engined coupe sports car manufactured by Honda.
The origins of the NSX trace back to 1984, with the HP-X (Honda Pininfarina eXperimental) concept, which was a mid-eng ...
.
* 80 degrees — 1988
''Honda RA168-E'' engine used in the
McLaren MP4/4
The McLaren MP4/4, also known as the McLaren-Honda MP4/4, is one of the most successful Formula One car designs of all time. Powered by Honda's RA168E 1.5-litre V6-turbo engine and driven by teammates Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna, the car comp ...
Formula One racing car.
Use in automobiles
![GTAengine32](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a6/GTAengine32.jpg)
In 1906, a few years after 4 cylinder engines and V8 engines had come into existence, the first known V6 engine was built. This V6 engine was a single prototype automotive engine built by
Marmon Motor Car Company
Marmon Motor Car Company was an American automobile manufacturer founded by Howard Carpenter Marmon and owned by Nordyke Marmon & Company of Indianapolis, Indiana, US. It produced luxury automobiles from 1902 to 1933.
It was established in 190 ...
in the United States. The engine did not reach production. Similarly, a single prototype engine was produced by
Buick
Buick () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Started by automotive pioneer David Dunbar Buick in 1899, it was among the first American marques of automobiles, and was the company that established General ...
in 1918.
In 1911
Delahaye
Delahaye was a family-owned automobile manufacturing company, founded by Émile Delahaye in 1894 in Tours, France. Manufacturing was moved to Paris following incorporation with two unrelated brothers-in-law as equal partners in 1898. The compa ...
produced the first 30° 3.2-litre DOHC installed in the Delahaye Type 44 automobile.
The
Lancia V6 engine
In 1950, Lancia introduced one of the world's first production V6 engines in the Lancia Aurelia. The engine was the work of Francesco De Virgilio and was developed to solve the vibration problems Lancia had experienced with its V4 engines. This ...
was introduced in the 1950
Lancia Aurelia
The Lancia Aurelia is a car produced by Italian manufacturer Lancia from 1950 to the summer of 1958. It is noted for using one of the first series-production V6 engines.
Several body styles were offered: 4-door saloon, 2-door GT coupé (B20), ...
. Lancia had been producing V4 engines for approximately 30 years, and one of the key goals was to reduce the vibrations compared with the V4 engine. The V6 engine used a 60 degree V-angle and six crankpins, resulting in an evenly-spaced firing order to reduce vibrations.
Other manufacturers took note and soon other V6 engines were designed. In 1959, the
GMC V6 engine
GMC Truck produced a unique 60 degree V6 engine family from 1959 through 1974, in gasoline and diesel versions. V8 and V12 derivatives of the basic design were also produced. Examples of this engine family were found in pickup trucks, Suburbans, ...
was introduced in the form of a 60-degree petrol engine used in pickup trucks and
carryalls. The
Buick V6 engine
The Buick V6, popularly referred to as the 3800 in its later incarnations, originally and initially marketed as ''Fireball'' at its introduction in 1962, was a large V6 engine used by General Motors. The block is made of cast iron and all use two ...
was introduced in 1962 and was based on the all-alloy
Buick 215 V8, which shared its 90° bank angle, but unlike the Buick V8, used all-cast iron construction. Initially an uneven-firing engine, Buick later redesigned the crankshaft to a "split-pin" configuration to create an "even-firing" version. After it became the 3800 V6 in 1990, the engine gained a reputation as a reliable, powerful, fuel-efficient workhorse that became a mainstay of GM's FWD mid-size and full-size cars. It was discontinued in 2008. Over 25 million units had been built, making it one of the most-produced engines in history, and it was on
Ward's 10 Best Engines of the 20th century list.
Ford introduced its European road car engines in 1965 with the German division's
Cologne V6, and the
Ford Essex V6 engine, introduced by Ford's United Kingdom division in 1966; both engines used a 60-degree V-angle. The 1967
Dino 206 GT Dino may refer to:
Prefix
* dino-, a common prefix in taxonomy, meaning "terrible", "formidable"
**Dinosaur
People
* Dino (given name), a masculine given name and a nickname
* Dino (surname), a surname found in Albania and Turkey
* Diño, a surna ...
was Ferrari's first V6 road car, which had a 65-degree V-angle.
The 1979-2005
Alfa Romeo V6 engine
The Alfa Romeo V6 engine (also called the Busso V6) is a 60° V6 engine made by Alfa Romeo from 1979 to 2005. It was developed in the early 1970s by Giuseppe Busso, and used on the Alfa 6 with a displacement of and a SOHC 12-valve cylinder hea ...
was introduced in the
Alfa Romeo Alfa 6
The Alfa Romeo Alfa 6 (Type 119) is a Luxury car, luxury executive car produced by the Italian automaker Alfa Romeo from 1979 to 1986. Its name refers to the six cylinders of the Alfa Romeo V6 engine, which made its first appearance on this car.
...
luxury sedan and later used in many other Alfa Romeo models. This engine used a 60 degree V-angle, an all-aluminium construction and two valves per cylinder. A turbocharged version was introduced in 1991 and a four valve per cylinder version was introduced in 1997. Also in 1970, the
Citroën SM
The Citroën SM is a high-performance coupé produced by the French manufacturer Citroën from 1970 to 1975. The SM placed third in the 1971 European Car of the Year contest, trailing its stablemate Citroën GS, and won the 1972 ''Motor Tre ...
grand tourer was introduced, powered by a 90-degree V6 built by Maserati. The
Chevrolet 90° V6 engine
The Chevrolet 90° V6 family of V6 engines began in 1978 with the Chevrolet as the base engine for the all new 1978 Chevrolet Malibu. The original engine family was phased out in early 2014, with its final use as the V6 engine used in Chevrol ...
was introduced in 1978 and produced for 36 years.
The first mass-produced Japanese V6 engine was the
Nissan VG engine
The VG engine family consists of V6 engines designed and produced by Nissan for several vehicles in the Nissan lineup. The VG series was introduced in 1983, becoming Nissan's and Japan's first mass-produced V6 engine. VG engines displace between 2 ...
, a 60-degree design which was produced from 1983 to 2004. The
Honda C engine
Honda's first production V6 was the C series; it was produced in displacements from 2.0 to 3.5 liters. The C engine was produced in various forms for over 20 years (1985–2005), having first been used in the KA series Legend model, and its Brit ...
was introduced in 1985, followed by the
Mitsubishi 6G7 engine
The 6G7 series or Cyclone V6 engine is a series of V6 piston engines from Mitsubishi Motors. Five displacement variants were produced from 1986 to 2021, with both SOHC and DOHC, naturally aspirated and turbo charged layouts. While ''MIVEC'' varia ...
and the
Mazda J engine
The Mazda J-family are a range of 60-degree V6 engines featuring a cast-iron cylinder block and alloy heads with belt-driven DOHC or SOHC. It is Mazda's only cast-iron gasoline V6. These engines are found in the Mazda H platform-based Mazda 929, ...
in 1986, the
Toyota VZ engine
The Toyota VZ engine family is a series of V6 gasoline piston engines ranging from in displacement and both SOHC and DOHC configurations. It was Toyota's first V6 engine, being made as a response to Nissan’s VG engine, one of Japan’s fir ...
in 1988, and the
Isuzu V engine
The Isuzu V engine is a family of all-aluminum 75° V6 gasoline engines produced by Isuzu. They feature either a belt-driven SOHC or DOHC valvetrain. Later versions feature direct ignition as well as gasoline direct injection. These engines ...
in 1992. Hyundai introduced the first South Korean
Hyundai Sigma engine
The Hyundai Sigma engine is a series of V6 piston engines from Hyundai Motor Company, based on the Mitsubishi 6G7 engine. The Sigma engine family began life with the simple V6 name. Displacement ranges from .
2.5L (G6AV)
The DOHC G6AV (also ca ...
based on technology shared from the Mitsubishi unit in 1995.
German car manufacturers were relatively slow to adopt V6 engines, because engineers believed that they lacked the smoothness of an inline-6 engine. Eventually, the first German V6 engine was a 2.8 liter 90° V6 that was launched in the 1990
Audi 100
The Audi 100 and Audi 200 (and sometimes called Audi 5000 in North America) are primarily mid-size/executive cars manufactured and marketed by the Audi division of the Volkswagen Group. The car was made from 1968 to 1997 across four generations (C ...
, and the narrow-angle
VR6
VR6 engines are V6 piston engines with a narrow angle between the cylinder banks and a single cylinder head covering both banks of cylinders.
Volkswagen Group introduced the first VR6 engine in 1991 and VR6 engines currently remain in producti ...
, which was introduced across Volkswagen's mid-size and sports car lineup in the 1990s. In 1998, Mercedes-Benz introduced the
M112, its first V6 engine, while BMW has continued to use inline-6 engines. Mercedes-Benz discontinued its V6 engines in 2017, and has since returned to making inline-6 engines.
The first independently designed British V6 engine was the
Rover KV6 engine
The KV6 automotive petrol engine has a 24-valve quad-cam V6 configuration, and a pressurising variable-length intake manifold to add hot spots throughout the rev range. Variants exist in capacities. These were built initially by Rover Group, ...
, which replaced the
Honda C engine
Honda's first production V6 was the C series; it was produced in displacements from 2.0 to 3.5 liters. The C engine was produced in various forms for over 20 years (1985–2005), having first been used in the KA series Legend model, and its Brit ...
that was previously used in the
Rover 800
The Rover 800 series is an executive car (E-segment in Europe) range manufactured by the Austin Rover Group subsidiary of British Leyland, and its successor the Rover Group from 1986 to 1999. It was also marketed as the Sterling in the United St ...
. Jaguar used the Ford-based
AJ-V6 engine until 2011 in their smaller cars, but also shared a V6 version of the 90°
AJ-V8 engine with Land Rover for use in the XE, XF, XJ, F-Type and the F-Pace. Land Rover used it in the Range Rover, Range Rover Sport, Range Rover Velar, and the Discovery 4.
The 90° V6 engine was discontinued in 2020, and Jaguar Land Rover replaced it with the new
Ingenium engine, which has an inline-6 variant for JLR's bigger cars and SUVs.
By the mid-1990s, the V6 layout was the most common configuration for six-cylinder automotive engines, with V6 engines having replaced most of the straight-six engines. Today, it is being progressively replaced across the car industry by turbocharged 4-cylinder engines, which can produce similar power, but in a smaller package that produces cleaner emissions, has better fuel economy, and are less expensive to produce.
Motor racing
![Mercedes V6 DTM Rennmotor 1996](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5f/Mercedes_V6_DTM_Rennmotor_1996.png)
The Lancia Aurelia (the first series production car with a V6 engine) was also successful in motor racing. Four of the ''Aurelia B20 Coupes'' were entered in the 1951
Mille Miglia
The Mille Miglia (, ''Thousand Miles'') was an open-road, motorsport endurance race established in 1927 by the young Counts Francesco Mazzotti and Aymo Maggi, which took place in Italy twenty-four times from 1927 to 1957 (thirteen before World ...
with the best placed cars finishing second and fourth. A tuned version of the Lancia V6 engine producing was used in the
Lancia D24
The Lancia D24 was a sports racing car introduced by Lancia in 1953, and raced in the 1953 and 1954 seasons. It kept the overall layout of its predecessor the D23—that is a multi-tubular frame chassis, double wishbones/ De Dion suspension, tr ...
. The D24 competed in sports car racing and won the 1953
Carrera Panamericana
The Carrera Panamericana was a border-to-border sedan ( stock and touring and sports car) rally racing event on open roads in Mexico similar to the Mille Miglia and Targa Florio in Italy. Running for five consecutive years from 1950 to 1954, i ...
with
Juan Manuel Fangio
Juan Manuel Fangio (American Spanish: , ; 24 June 1911 – 17 July 1995), nicknamed ''El Chueco'' ("the bowlegged" or "bandy legged one") or ''El Maestro'' ("The Master" or "The Teacher"), was an Argentine racing car driver. He dominated t ...
at the wheel.
The initial version of the
Ferrari Dino engine
The Ferrari Dino engine is a line of mechanically similar V6 and V8 engines produced by Ferrari for about 40 years from the late 1950s into the early 2000s.
The idea for the engine came from Alfredo "Dino" Ferrari, who was the son of Enzo Fer ...
was a racing engine used in Formula Two racing in the 1957 season. It had a V-angle of 65 degrees and dual overhead camshafts. The Dino V6 underwent several evolutions, including a version used in the 1958
Ferrari 246 Formula One racing car. A few years later, the 1961-1964
Ferrari 156
The Ferrari 156 was a racing car made by Ferrari in 1961 to comply with then-new Formula One regulations that reduced engine displacement from 2.5- to 1.5-litres, similar to the pre-1961 Formula Two class for which Ferrari had developed a mid-eng ...
Formula One car used a new V6 engine with a V-angle of 120 degrees and a displacement of . This engine was shorter and lighter than the Ferrari Dino engine, and the simplicity and low center of gravity of the engine was an advantage in racing. It won a large number of races between and . However, Ferrari's founder had a personal dislike of the 120 degree layout, preferring a 65 degree layout, and after that time it was replaced by other engines.
The Dino engine was also used in the
Lancia Stratos
The Lancia Stratos HF (''Tipo 829''), widely and more simply known as Lancia Stratos, is a rear mid-engined sports car designed for rally racing, made by Italian car manufacturer Lancia. The HF stands for ''High Fidelity''. It was a very successf ...
, which was a highly successful rally car that won the World Rally Championship in 1974, 1975 and 1976.
A notable racing use of the Alfa Romeo V6 engine was the
Alfa Romeo 155 V6 TI, designed for the
1993 DTM season and equipped with a engine making a peak power of at 11,900 rpm.
The ''Renault-Gordini CH1'' was a 90 degree V6 engine with an iron block. It was introduced in the 1973 ''Alpine -Renault A440'' sportscar racing car. This engine won the European 2 L prototype championship in 1974 and several
European Formula Two Championship
The European Formula Two Championship was a Formula Two motor racing series that was held between 1967–84. The races were held across Europe, and were contested both by drivers aiming to compete in Formula One in the future as well as curren ...
s. A turbocharged version was used in the
Renault Alpine A442
The Renault Alpine A442 (also known as the Alpine Renault A442 ) is a sports prototype racing car, designed and built by Alpine, but funded and powered by Alpine's owners Renault, specifically to contest the 24 Hours of Le Mans race. Variants wer ...
, which won the
24 Hours of Le Mans
The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance r ...
in 1978.
A turbocharged version of the ''Renault-Gordini CH1'' engine was introduced in the 1977
Renault RS01
The Renault RS01 was the first Formula One car to be powered by a turbocharged engine. It was also the first to use radial tyres, which were provided by Michelin. Designed by André de Cortanze and Jean-Pierre Jabouille, it first appeared at the ...
Formula One car. Renault struggled with reliability issues in 1977 and 1978, however the 1979 season saw some good results at a few races. In 1981, the
Ferrari 126C
The Ferrari 126C is the car with which Ferrari raced in the 1981 Formula One season. The team's first attempt at a turbocharged Formula 1 car, it was designed by Mauro Forghieri and Harvey Postlethwaite and used between the 1981 and 1984 season ...
Formula One car used a turbocharged V6 engine. Ferrari won the
Formula One constructors' championship
Formula One, abbreviated to F1, is the highest class of open-wheeled auto racing defined by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), motorsport's world governing body. The "formula" in the name refers to a set of rules to which ...
with turbocharged V6 engines in 1982 and 1983. Initial versions used a 120 degree V-angle, before switching to a 90 degree V-angle for the 1987
Ferrari F1/87
The Ferrari F1/87 is a Formula One racing car used by the Ferrari team during the 1987 Formula One season. The car was driven by Michele Alboreto (number 27) and Gerhard Berger (number 28) and replaced the Ferrari F1/86 used in 1986.
F1/87
Form ...
racing car. Other successful turbocharged V6 Formula One cars in the era of 1982-1988 were the
McLaren MP4/2
The McLaren MP4/2 was a Formula One car produced by McLaren for the 1984 season. An iteration of it, the MP4/2B, was used in the 1985 season, and a slightly updated version, the MP4/2C, raced in the 1986 season for McLaren. It was closely base ...
,
McLaren MP4/3,
McLaren MP4/4
The McLaren MP4/4, also known as the McLaren-Honda MP4/4, is one of the most successful Formula One car designs of all time. Powered by Honda's RA168E 1.5-litre V6-turbo engine and driven by teammates Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna, the car comp ...
,
Williams FW10
The Williams FW10 is a Formula One car designed by Frank Dernie for use by the Williams Grand Prix Engineering, Williams team in the 1985 Formula One World Championship. It was powered by a Honda in Formula One, Honda RA165E V6 engine, V6 Turboc ...
,
Williams FW11
The Williams FW11 was a Formula One car designed by Frank Dernie as a serious challenger to McLaren and their MP4/2C car. The car took over from where the FW10 left off at the end of , when that car won the last three races of the season. The ...
,
Williams FW12
The Williams FW12 was a Formula One racing car used by the Williams team for the season. An updated version, the FW12C, was used for 12 of the 16 races of the season. The FW12 was Williams's first naturally aspirated car since the FW08 and F ...
,
Lotus 95T
The Lotus 95T was a Formula One racing car designed by Gérard Ducarouge for use by Team Lotus in the 1984 Formula One World Championship. The car brought Lotus its best results for several seasons, frequently reaching the podium.
Design
The ...
,
Lotus 97T
The Lotus 97T was a Formula One racing car designed by Gérard Ducarouge and built by Team Lotus for use in the 1985 Formula One World Championship. A development of the previous year's 95T, the car was powered by the turbocharged 1.5-litre Ren ...
,
Lotus 98T
The Lotus 98T was a Formula One car designed by Gérard Ducarouge and Martin Ogilvie and built by Team Lotus for use in the 1986 Formula One World Championship. Development of the previous year's 97T, the car was raced by Brazilian Ayrton Senn ...
,
Lotus 99T
The Lotus 99T is a Formula One car designed by Gérard Ducarouge for use by Lotus in the 1987 Formula One World Championship.
Background and design
After Renault pulled out of F1 at the end of , Lotus signed a deal with Honda for use of th ...
and
Lotus 100T
The Lotus 100T is a Formula One car designed by Gérard Ducarouge and Martin Ogilvie for Team Lotus, and used during the 1988 Formula One season. The 100T was an update of the previous Lotus 99T model; technically the car was virtually unchange ...
.
The
Nissan GTP ZX-Turbo
The Nissan GTP ZX-Turbo (also known as the GTP ZX-T) was a series of racing cars developed for Nissan Motors by Electramotive Engineering to compete in the IMSA GT Championship. Running from 1985 to 1990, they were known for being the first car to ...
and
Nissan NPT-90
The Nissan NPT-90 was a racing car developed in 1990 for Nissan Motors by Nissan Performance Technology Incorporated (NPTI), formerly known as Electramotive Engineering. It was a replacement for the highly successful GTP ZX-Turbo that had won the ...
competed in the
IMSA
The International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) is a North American sports car racing sanctioning body based in Daytona Beach, Florida under the jurisdiction of the ACCUS arm of the FIA. It was started by John Bishop, a former executive direc ...
sports car prototype category from 1985 to 1994 and used a turbocharged V6 engine loosely based on the Nissan VG30ET production car engine. The
Nissan 300ZX
The Nissan 300ZX is a sports car that was produced across two different generations. As with all other versions of the Z, the 300ZX was sold within the Japanese domestic market under the name Fairlady Z.
It was sold in Japan from 1983 to 2000 a ...
used a similar engine to compete in the 1996-1997
All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship
All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship is a grand touring car racing series that began in 1993. Originally titled as the , generally referred to as either the JGTC the series was renamed to Super GT in 2005. It was the top level of sports car r ...
(now known as the 'Super GT' championship).
Downsizing to V6 engines in open-wheeler racing became more common:
* the
IndyCar Series
The IndyCar Series, currently known as the NTT IndyCar Series under sponsorship, is the highest class of regional North American open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices of ...
switched to turbocharged V6 engines in 2012.
* the
GP3 Series
The GP3 Series, or GP3 for short, was a single-seater motor racing series launched in 2010 as a feeder series for the GP2 Series, introduced by GP2 organiser Bruno Michel. GP3 followed the entire European leg of the Formula One series and the ...
switched to
naturally aspirated
Naturally may refer to:
;Albums
* ''Naturally!'', an album by Nat Adderley
* ''Naturally'' (Houston Person album)
* ''Naturally'' (J. J. Cale album)
* ''Naturally'' (John Pizzarelli album)
* ''Naturally'' (Sharon Jones album)
* ''Naturally'' ...
V6 engines in 2013.
* the
Formula One World Championship
Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
switched to turbocharged V6 engines in 2014.
* the
FIA Formula 2 Championship
The FIA Formula 2 Championship is a second-tier single-seater championship organised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). Held on racing circuits, the championship was introduced in 2017, following the rebranding of the lo ...
(formerly known as the GP2 Series) switched to turbocharged V6 engines in 2018.
* the
FIA Formula 3 Championship
The FIA Formula 3 Championship is a third-tier international single-seater racing championship and organised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The championship launched in 2019 as a feeder series for the FIA Formula 1 W ...
(created from the merger of the GP3 Series and the FIA Formula 3 European Championship) began using naturally aspirated V6 engines from 2019.
Use in marine vessels and railway engines
V6 engines are popular powerplants in medium to large
outboard motor
An outboard motor is a propulsion system for boats, consisting of a self-contained unit that includes engine, gearbox and propeller or jet drive, designed to be affixed to the outside of the transom. They are the most common motorised method ...
s.
The first V6 engine to reach production was built from 1908 to 1913 by the
Deutz Gasmotoren Fabrik
Deutz AG is a German internal combustion engine manufacturer, based in Porz, Cologne, Germany.
History
The company was founded by Nicolaus Otto, the inventor of the four-stroke internal combustion engine, and his partner Eugen Langen on 31 ...
in Germany. These V6 engines were used as the generator for gasoline-electric railway engines.
Use in motorcycles
The
Laverda V6 was a racing motorcycle which was unveiled at the 1977 Milan show. It entered the 1978
Bol d'Or
The Bol d’Or is a 24-hour endurance race for motorcycles, held annually in France. The riding of each bike is now shared by a team of three riders.
History
The Bol d’Or, first organized by Eugene Mauve, in 1922, was a race for motorcycles ...
24 hour endurance race, however it retired with mechanical issues after approximately 8 hours.
Horex
Horex is a German motorcycle manufacturer. It was founded in 1923 by Fritz Kleemann in Bad Homburg vor der Höhe in Hesse. From 1935 to the mid-1950s, the company operated as Horex-Columbus-Werk K.G.,then as Horex-Werke KG.
The brand name Ho ...
has produced road motorcycles with VR6 engines since 2012.
See also
*
Flat-six engine
A flat-six engine, also known as a horizontally opposed-six, is a six-cylinder piston engine with three cylinders on each side of a central crankshaft. The most common type of flat-six engine is the boxer-six engine, where each pair of opposed c ...
*
Straight-six engine
The straight-six engine (also referred to as an inline-six engine; abbreviated I6 or L6) is a piston engine with six cylinders arranged in a straight line along the crankshaft. A straight-six engine has perfect primary and secondary engine bala ...
References
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