But have to admit there is a part of me that would really love to drive something like the BMW M340i [1]. And the gas mileage (26/33 MPG) isn't even too bad.
That's probably the reason - we only need dressage horses and pure bloods now that the real draft horse is getting put to pasture.
These are no longer workhorses.
Six cylinders are the smoothest engines out there.
Honda used to have a 1L 6 cylinder engine for their bikes - the Gold wing has a 6 cylinder still.
The perimeter of the piston goes down in relation to its area (& multiplied by BMEP) when the radius goes up - looking at you Africa Twin.
The perimeter is where the unburnt fuel lives and gets caught up in the emission rules. So fewer larger cylinders is better according to EPA - 500cc each, maybe.
If we're only going to have hobby vehicles with internal combustion, then a six cylinder or doubling up to a v-12 makes sense.
They're toys for the weekend, not to put a 100k miles on it.
I dunno man, have you ever driven a rotary? The design has a lot of problems, but smoothness isn't one of them...
It is awesome. Incredible power. Silky smooth on highway. Sounds like a beast on start up. I regularly get 36/37 mpg on a long drive.
I prefer the sound of the B58 in the m340 over the S58 in the m3 but they are quite different engines. And way different power. But straight-six throughout.
Still think one of the best engine sounds out there is the s54 in the 2001-2006 m3
At the moment, I have a Boxster, and the flat 6 somehow feels smoother than any I6 I've owned. I've done some research and sure enough, the inline 6 is (mathematically) smoother than an inline 6. The only way I can explain the fact that the boxer feels smoother is because it's mounted low and behind me, away from steering components? Whereas in my I6 cars, with the engine in front, you feel it through the front subframe and steering a bit.
Smoother in what sense? My Boxster is stick so the shifting experience is very different. The flat-6 is a remarkable sound - intoxicating. Especially purely naturally aspirated though I don’t hate the sound of the turbo 3.x variations in various Porsches. BMW ZF is great but it’s not the same.
Otherwise, yes - the handling in Boxster is so different compared to the m340. It just feels like it’s on rails around corners. No body roll. And for me peak way up in RPM means my highway merges are an absolute blast / symphony.
You want to stuff an in-line six in every race car, buggy, and Jeep that you see, with a supercharger slapped on top? Why not just go with an LS?