General Motors Is Pushing The Limits Of The Four-Cylinder Engine.
ONCE, GARGANTUAN INLINE-FOURS ruled the world. In 1909, a 200-hp 21.5-liter four-cylinder powered racecar driver Victor Hémery’s Blitzen Benz to a then-out landish 125.9 mph at Britain’s Brooklands circuit. For a moment, it was the fastest car in the world.
General Motors’ new turbo 2.7-liter inline-four, code-named L3B, isn’t that big. But when it makes its way into GM’s full-sizetruck lineup this fall, it will be one of the largest gas-fired, spark-ignited inline-fours sold in the U.S. (the Toyota Tacoma has a 2.7-liter four, too). And there aren’t likely to be many larger ones. An inline-four can grow only so big before losing its advantages over other configurations with more cylinders.
This story is from the October 2018 edition of Car and Driver.
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This story is from the October 2018 edition of Car and Driver.
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