V6 engines

A V6 engine is a V engine with six cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of three cylinders, usually set at either a right angleor an acute angle to each other, with all six pistons driving a common crankshaft. It is the second most common engine configuration in modern cars after the inline four.^[1]

The V6 is one of the most compact engine configurations, shorter than the inline-4 and in many designs narrower than the V8. Owing to its compact length, the V6 lends itself well to the widely-used transverse engine front-wheel drive layout. It is becoming more common as the space allowed for engines in modern cars is reduced at the same time as power requirements increase, and has largely replaced theinline-6, which is too long to fit in many modern engine compartments. Although it is more complicated and not as smooth as the inline-6, the V6 is more rigid for a given weight, more compact and less prone to torsional vibrations in the crankshaft for a given displacement^{[citation needed]}. The V6 engine has become widely adopted for medium-sized cars, often as an optional engine where an inline-4 is standard, or as a base engine where a V8 is a higher-cost performance option.

Recent forced induction V6 engines have delivered horsepower and torque output comparable to contemporary larger displacement,naturally aspirated V8 engines, while reducing fuel consumption and emissions, such as the Volkswagen Group's 3.0 TFSI which issupercharged and directly injected, and Ford Motor Company's turbocharged and directly injected EcoBoost V6, both of which have been compared to Volkswagen's 4.2 V8 engine.^[1]

Modern V6 engines commonly range in displacement from 2.5 to 4.0 L (150 to 240 cu in), though larger and smaller examples have been produced.

History

Some of the first V6-cars were built in 1905 by Marmon. Marmon was something of a V-Specialist which began with V2-engines, then built V4's and V6's, later V8's and in the 1930s Marmon was one of the few car-makers of the world which ever built a V16 car.^[2]

From 1908 to 1913 the Deutz Gasmotoren Fabrik produced benzene electric trainsets (Hybrid) which used a V6 as generator-engine.^[3]

Another V6-car was designed in 1918 by Leo Goosen for Buick Chief Engineer Walter L. Marr. Only one prototype Buick V6 car was built in 1918 and was long used by the Marr family.