Other similar design examples are the odd-fire and even-fire Buick V6 and the Maserati V6 seen in the Citroën SM.

The 3. 0 mm thick flange effectively caused the connecting rods on the left-hand bank of cylinders ( forward bank for FWD applications ) to move 3. 0 mm forward relative to the right-hand bank, but the engine block remained unchanged compared to the odd-fire engine.

An example is the Buick 231 odd-fire, which has a firing order 1-6-5-4-3-2.

Rear side of a Ford V6 engine, looking at the clutch housing on the flywheel

These engines had two extra cylinders for forced induction, so they really appeared like V6 engines but without spark plugs on the front cylinder pair.

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 angle or an acute angle to each other, with all six pistons driving a common crankshaft.

Concentrating on the first order rocking motion, the V6 can be assumed to consist of two separate straight-3 where counterweights on the crankshaft and a counter rotating balance shaft compensate the first order rocking motion.

When Buick designed a 90 ° V6 based on their 90 ° V8, they initially used a simpler three-throw crankshaft laid out in the same manner as the V8 with pairs of connecting rods sharing the same crankpin, which resulted in firing intervals alternating between 90 ° and 150 °.

Comparing engines on the dynamometer, a typical even-fire V6 shows instantaneous torque peaks of 150 % above mean torque and valleys of 125 % below mean torque, with a small amount of negative torque ( engine torque reversals ) between power strokes.

The Mercedes V6, although designed to be built on the same assembly lines as the V8, used split crankpins, a counter-rotating balancing shaft, and careful acoustic design to make it almost as smooth as the inline-6 it replaced.

As a result, the 120 ° V6 acts like two straight-3s running on the same crankshaft and, like the straight-3, suffers from a primary dynamic imbalance which requires a balance shaft to offset.

Many older V6 engines were based on V8 engine designs, in which a pair of cylinders was cut off the front of V8 without altering the V angle or using a more sophisticated crankshaft to even out the firing interval.

These range from 2 -, 3-and 4-cylinder models generating 15 to 135 horsepower suitable for hulls up to in length, to powerful V6 and V8 cylinder blocks rated up to., with sufficient power to be used on boats of or longer.

Later that year, the company launched products that appear to integrate elements from both sides of the company, including the Chrysler Crossfire, which was based on the Mercedes SLK platform and utilized Mercedes's 3. 2L V6, and the Dodge Sprinter / Freightliner Sprinter, a re-badged Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van.

Outside Formula One, Villeneuve has taken on several new careers: in sportscar racing, racing for Peugeot in the 2007 and 2008 24 Hours of Le Mans, jumping to NASCAR in August 2007 and racing as an invited driver in the Argentinian Top Race V6 series and the Australian based International V8 Supercars Championship.

The ZDX was designed by Michelle Christensen and based on the Acura MDX using that vehicles 3. 7 litre V6 engine ( 300 bhp ) and SH-AWD system.

The factory proudly put its Alpine badges on the built early batches of the mid engined Clio series one Clio V6.

The FBA came first in 1991 also known as the ' BOA ', it was based on the Ford Cologne V6 used in the Ford Sierra and Ford Capri and other models and was a twin overhead camshaft 24valve conversion for more power, producing and better idle quality.

Cosworth experimented with turbocharged BD derivatives, before settling on an all-new turbocharged V6 engine to be badged as the Ford TEC ( internally it was known as the GB-series ).

* Lotus Exige S: Currently the only Exige on sale is the Exige S with a supercharged engine providing 345 bhp ( the same as in the Evora S ) from supercharged 3. 5 litre V6.

The 2. 0 Ford Cologne V6 engine continued to be offered on Taunus badged cars in parallel with the Pinto unit, and offers here an interesting comparison with the similarly sized in-line four-cylinder Pinto engine.

Variants included the Base, L, GL and Ghia variants ( all available in both saloon and estate forms ), together with Base and L spec 2-door sedan versions ( this bodystyle was available up to Ghia V6 level on overseas markets ).

The German-built Ford " Cologne " 2. 8 L V6 was used instead ( thus the chassis on the 6B differs from the 6 / 6A at the front ) and provided similar power but rather less torque at low revs.

Sporting models utilized the 2. 8 / 2. 9-litre V6 engines coupled to a four-wheel-drive system ( GLS4X4 / XR4x4 ) and, more notably the well known Cosworth model which was powered by a turbocharged 16-valve 4-cylinder engine known as the YB which was based on the Ford ' Pinto ' block.

In 1985 the XR4i was replaced by the XR4x4, which was based on the five-door hatchback, had four-wheel drive and was powered by the same 2. 8 L V6 engine.

Other manufacturers took note and soon other V6 engines were in use.

At mating, the angle between the banks and the angle between the crankshafts can be varied so that the balancer shafts cancel each other 90 ° V6 ( larger counter weights ) and the even firing 60 ° V6 with 60 ° flying arms ( smaller counter weights.

Unlike most other angles, 60-degree V6 engines can be made acceptably smooth without the need for balance shafts.

More modern 90 ° V6 engine designs avoid these vibration problems by using crankshafts with offset split crankpins to make the firing intervals even, and often add balancing shafts to eliminate the other vibration problems.

However, unlike the crossplane crankshaft V8, there is no way to arrange a V6 so that unbalanced forces from the two cylinder banks will completely cancel each other.

However, Enzo Ferrari had a personal dislike of the 120 ° V6 layout, preferring a 65 ° angle, and after that time it was replaced by other engines.

Early 90 ° V6 engines derived from V8 engines had three shared crankpins arranged at 120 ° from each other, similar to an inline 3-cylinder.

The standard 3. 8 L V6 had a new split-port induction system, and was rated at 1999 – 2004, while the Mustang GT's 4. 6 L V8 saw an increase in output to ( 1999 – 2004 ), due to a new head design and other enhancements.

First, Lanchester balance shafts, an old idea reintroduced by Mitsubishi in the 1980s to overcome the natural imbalance of the straight-4 engine and rapidly adopted by many other manufacturers, have made both straight-4 and V6 engines smoother-running ; the greater smoothness of the straight-6 layout is no longer as great an advantage.

V6 engines, on the other hand, are generally arranged at 60 ° ( again because of timing ), but can be built as 90 ° engines, with either staggered timing or split crankshaft journals.

The September 2009 MY10 update to the VE Commodore platform introduces a new standard engine – a 3. 0-litre Spark Ignition Direct Injection ( SIDI ) V6 on the Omega and Berlina, with a 3. 6-litre version of the same reserved for all other V6 variants.

The model Z-207 featured a V6 engine and a corrugated-sheet cab, which was also used in other Pegaso truck models in the 1960s and 1970s.

Sales of the V6 in the United States market came to an end after the 1994 model year, although they continued in Canada, Japan and many other export markets.

The same models, base, LJ and SJ continued as before as did the basic engine lineup including the 231 cubic-inch Buick V6 standard on base and LJ models, the 301 CID Pontiac V8 with two-barrel carburetor that was optional on both of those models, and the 301 V8 with four-barrel carburetion that was standard on the SJ and optional on the other models.

While the 3. 8 L V6 remained standard for the regular Grand Prix ', a fuel-injected 4. 3 L Chevrolet 90 ° V6 was added to the option list for models other than the 2 + 2.

Inside, the GTP was essentially the same as the Turbo, but the exterior used mini-quad headlamps ( along with all other Grand Prix coupes ), " GTP Grand Prix " and " 24 Valve V6 " badges.

All other engines including the Buick 231 V6 and Olds 260 and 307 Rocket V8s were continued.

In February 1991 Car Magazine tested the XM in V6 form alongside ten other executive cars ( Alfa Romeo 164 V6 Lusso, BMW 525i 24v, Ford Scorpio 2. 9 EFi, Jaguar XJ6 3. 2, Mercedes Benz 260E, Peugeot 605 3. 0 SVE, Rover Sterling, Saab 9000 CDs 2. 3 turbo, Vauxhall Senator CD 3. 0i and Volvo 960 3. 0i-24 ).