The V6 Engine is Dead

 

We live in a time where efficiency is king. Waste is being reduced every day and there are countless corporations and individuals studying to reduce it even more. The internal combustion engine as we know it is one of the worst enemies of the environment. Yet, even though battery power isn’t quite developed enough to replace every internal combustion engine, the consequence is much better efficiency from those traditional, fuel-burning engines. A day will come when the internal combustion engine will be a thing of the past, but the day of reckoning for the V6 has possibly already come.

I’ve talked about the inline six-cylinder engine before. It takes up more space than a V6 because of its shape. This is partially why the V6 has been traditionally more popular. Times are changing though. The need for more efficient engines has brought about the explosion of the four-cylinder engine, even if the inline six is making its own little comeback.

Most cars and even SUVs today are available with a four cylinder engine. It’s one of the most basic engines you can have, it is compact, and many of them are fairly reliable because of their layout. More than that, they are able to provide enough power for the average car, while not having to work so hard that fuel economy suffers. All in all, the four-cylinder engine provides an adequate middle ground for most people’s needs. Even cars like the Honda S2000, Subaru WRX Sti, and Golf GTI have always used the four-cylinder. Though none of these would be considered truly fast, they are dedicated performance cars that are infamous competitors in Motorsport.

But, back to the V-6. Why is it dead? First of all, it isn’t completely dead, but the list of automobiles in which it resides is limited.
The Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrofoglio has a V6 that sings and produces just a hair over 500 horsepower. It’s quite a car, and it actually won Motor Trend’s Car of the Year. That might sound awesome, and it is, but not everybody has the new Alfa on their radar. A Giulia in that trim starts at over $70,000.

The Chevrolet Camaro has a V6 engine option, but it also has a four and eight cylinder option. The V8 is the preferred choice for the car and the four cylinder provides just about the same amount of performance as the V6. Even the Mustang has dropped its V6 option this past year.

Some other cars with an available V6 include various Mercedes, BMW, Audi, and Genesis models, none of which are huge sellers within the general public. The Toyota Avalon comes standard with a 3.5 liter V6 engine and the Toyota Camry still has an available V6 on its top trim levels. Buyers of both models probably find the engine and its capability to be the last of their concerns. The Honda Accord has dropped the V6 as an option this past year.

While car options are slim for the V6, there are quite a few SUVs that still utilize the engine. Most of them are larger though with even most small and a few large SUVs starting to use the four cylinder. The four cylinder is showing its dominance year after year and will continue to do so even as large SUVs phase out the larger engine offering.

The answer, again, is technology. With all the advances we’ve made not only with the engine, but also with transmissions and the computers used in the cars themselves, we can almost control exactly how efficient an engine can be. Not only that, but we can now reliably tune a four-cylinder to achieve just as much performance as many V6 engines that are still being produced. The four-cylinder layout just makes so much more sense.

For even more performance than a four-cylinder is able to provide, there is still the V8 engine. It’s the quintessential soul of the American muscle car and the engine that many supercar manufacturers are turning to in lieu of the V10 and V12 engines of yesteryear. The V8 can pick up where the four-cylinder leaves off and can reach almost ridiculously unnecessary levels of performance.

With the walls closing in on both sides, there really isn’t any need for the V6 engine anymore. It’s been choked out by time and technological advancement. It really is sad. The beautiful wail of the V6 will be missed by those who understood it and loved it when it finally disappears. Or just maybe, some manufacturer will bring it back, just as Mercedes is bringing back the inline six-cylinder, and it will be able to live again briefly, giving just another taste of the past.