Mercedes-Benz to return to straight six engines

[Blue_XR]

I was reading through car advice and I thought this was quite interesting.

http://www.caradvice.com.au/143292/m...t-six-engines/

Mercedes-Benz is thinking of returning to its roots and adopting straight six engines to its vehicles. This will be a big change over the existing V6 layouts that have been on offer for the past 15 years or so.

Mercedes-Benz has been using V6 engines since around 1996 while it has always been BMW that has used the inline six-cylinder layout. But things are about to change. It is believed both diesel and petrol V6 engines will be discontinued in the next four years, making way for turbocharged straight-six units.

According to a source from Mercedes-Benz engineering departments talking with CAR in the UK, Mercedes-Benz has signed off on a range of next-generation engines. These include a range of small four-cylinder units as well as a new lineup of small V8 engines, including a 4.0-litre turbocharged V8, as well as new inline sixes.

Like the current crop of V6 engines, the new inline sixes will power some of Mercedes-Benz’s larger cars, such as the Mercedes-Benz E-Class variants and M-Class and M-Class derived SUVs.

The range of new engines have apparently been signed off for release in 2015.

What do you think? Could this be a good move by Mercedes-Benz? Let us know in the comments section below.