Car Tech 101: Understanding engine configurations. V8 Engine Motion Animation ( 3ds max ) M3 engine. Top no stacks 792. Heads 776. Throttles 785. Timing chains 769. Top no cover 791. Gear Drive. Crank 781. Headers 784. HowStuffWorks "Is there a difference between inline and V engine configuration?" There are actually three different engine configurations commonly used in automobiles: Inline -- the cylinders are arranged in a line in a single bank: Click on image to see animationV -- the cylinders are arranged in two banks set at an angle to one another: Click on image to see animationFlat (also known as horizontally opposed or a boxer) -- the cylinders are arranged in two banks on opposite sides of the engine: Click on image to see animation You can find, for example, inline 6 cylinder engines, flat 6 cylinder engines and V-6 engines.
If you built all three of these six cylinder engines to the exact same specifications -- same displacement, same valves, same intake and exhaust systems, etc. -- they would likely perform nearly identically. Displacement is displacement. Rotary Engine. W12 cutaway.