World Car News #Update
…an inline six engine.
Say Mercedes is just rolling around in circles and we will agree. When their reasons are considered however, one can understand why they seem to be going back and forth on a single part of their vehicles. About fifteen years ago, Mercedes dropped production of inline-six engines in favour of the V6 and just then, it seemed the inline sixes were going obsolete. The reason then was because V8 engines were being adopted from V12’s and both of them as well as V6’s could be mass produced in the same line. Now that V8 and V12 engines are being left for only AMG to produce, Mercedes switched back to using inline sixes which can be produced in the same line as the inline fours which is the most popular engine configuration in the world.
The adoption of the new inline sixes was announced in the fall of 2016 but their first production and application will be seen in the Mercedes CLS450. In that application, the engine will make 362 horsepower and 369 pound-feet of torque. In the Mercedes-AMG CLS53 and E53, the new 3.0-liter will make 429 horsepower and 384 pound-feet of torque. It is expected that the engine would be spotted in the German automaker’s larger cars and SUVs while smaller cars like the C and GL classes will keep up with the inline four.
The silky burble of this inline engine is expected to serve as a travel down memory lane to Mercedes’ old feel especially for its first ever users.