I find the return to the inline 6 interesting. One flaw inherent to all inline 6 designs is a potentially fatal crankshaft flex at- what was it? 6000 rpm? It was high enough that for normal street driving, it wasn't a concern, but low enough that guys running their cars hard had to be aware. If the engine was revved through the fatal RPM range (going up or down), there was no problem. But if the engine were continuously revved in that range, the crankshaft would flex and major failures would happen. I wonder if this new inline 6 will have the same problem? It's amazing how todays engineers have solved a lot of past problems.
Being an inline, it's gonna be a long engine and the challenge will be to keep the engine's weight aft of the centerline of the front wheels. A greater challenge will be fitting it into a front wheel drive vehicle. Being a 3.0, it's likely shorter than inline 6s in the past. Short enough to be transverse mounted?
My question is, why not the V6? The 60 degree V-6 is a wonderful engine and has advantages in Noise/Harshness/Vibration.
Turbos are wear items, like tires and fan belts. They do wear out and are expensive to replace and twin turbos are twice as expensive. In this case, the engineers have taken steps to control heat and thus, increase turbo service life with liquid cooling the bearings and an electric pump to keep coolant flowing after the engine is shut down. Liquid cooled exhaust is another interesting feature.
I thought we'd seen the pinnacle of ICE technology. Certainly, I've seen it plateau. More than once. Yet, scientists and engineers continue to surprise. They sure don't make them like they used to. Back in the day, that was a curse. Today, it's a blessing. I loved the 4.0 in my Cherokee. I love the 3.6 in my Wrangler more.
Improved turbo systems, clean burning diesels and hybrids. I'm willing to see where these new designs take us.
lots of fun to be had there!
