page_title: Inline-four engine
section_title: Racing use
hierarchical_section_title: Inline-four engine / Automobile use / Racing use
caption_attribution_description: English: BMW F1 Engine M12/13 with Kugelfischer Injection max. boost 5.6 bar 1450hp Deutsch: BMW Formel 1 Motor M12/13 mit Kugelfischer Einspritzung und Turbolader, Ladedruck 5,6bar, 1450PS
context_page_description: The inline-four engine or straight-four engine is a four-cylinder internal combustion engine in which the cylinders are mounted in a straight line or plane along the crankcase. The single bank of cylinders may be oriented in either a vertical or an inclined plane with all the pistons driving a common crankshaft. Where it is inclined, it is sometimes called a slant-four. In a specification chart or when an abbreviation is used, an inline-four engine is listed either as I4 or L4.
  The inline-four layout is in perfect primary balance and confers a degree of mechanical simplicity that makes it popular for economy cars. However, it suffers from a secondary imbalance that causes minor vibrations in smaller engines, and more powerful vibrations as engine size and power increase. So, the more powerful engines used in larger cars are generally more complex designs with more than four cylinders.
  Today almost all manufacturers of four-cylinder automobile engines produce the inline-four layout, with Subaru and Porsche 718 flat-four engines being notable exceptions, and so four-cylinder is usually synonymous with and a more widely used term than inline-four.
context_section_description: 1913 saw a Peugeot driven by Jules Goux winning the Indianapolis 500. This car was powered by an inline-four engine designed by Ernest Henry. This design was very influential for racing engines as it had, for the first time, dual overhead camshafts (DOHC) and four valves per cylinder, a layout that would become the standard until today for racing inline-four engines.
  This Peugeot was sold to the American driver "Wild Bob" Burman who broke the engine in 1915. As Peugeot couldn't deliver a new engine during World War I, Burman asked Harry Arminius Miller to build a new engine. With John Edward and Fred Offenhauser, Miller created a Peugeot-inspired inline-four engine. This was the first version of the engine that would dominate the Indianapolis 500 until 1976 under the brand Miller and later Offenhauser. The Offenhausers won five straight victories at Indianapolis from 1971 to 1976, and it was not until 1981 that they were eliminated as competitors by engines such as the Cosworth V8 engine.
  Many cars produced for the pre-WWII voiturette Grand Prix motor racing category used inline-four engine designs. 1.5 L supercharged engines found their way into cars such as the Maserati 4CL and various English Racing Automobiles (ERA) models. These were resurrected after the war, and formed the foundation of what was later to become Formula One, although the straight-eight supercharged Alfettas would dominate the early years of F1.
  Another engine that played an important role in racing history is the inline-four Ferrari engine designed by Aurelio Lampredi. This engine was originally designed as a 2 L Formula 2 engine for the Ferrari 500, but evolved to 2.5 L to compete in Formula One in the Ferrari 625. For sports car racing, capacity was increased up to 3.4 L for the Ferrari 860 Monza.
  Yet another very successful engine was the Coventry Climax inline-four originally designed by Walter Hassan as a 1.5 L Formula 2 engine. Enlarged to 2.0 L for Formula One in 1958, it evolved into the large 2,495 cc FPF that won the Formula One championship in Cooper's chassis in 1959 and 1960.
  In Formula One, the 1980s were dominated by the 1,500 cc turbocharged cars. The BMW model M12/13 turbo was notable for the era for its high boost pressures and performance. The cast iron block 4-cylinder turbocharged Formula One motor, based on the standard BMW M10 engine introduced in 1961, powered the F1 cars of Brabham, Arrows and Benetton and won the world championship in 1983. In the years 1986 and 1987, the version M12/13/1 was tilted sideways by 72° for use in the extremely low Brabham BT55. Unfortunately, the design was not successful, probably due to cooling issues in the tight compartment. The 1986 engine was said to produce about 1,300 hp (969 kW) in qualifying.
  From 2010 to 2012, the GP3 Series used a 2.0 L (122 cu in) turbocharged inline-four engine developed by Renault Sport with a maximum power of 280 hp.
  Inline-four engines are also used in MotoGP by the Suzuki (since 2015) and Yamaha (since 2002) teams. In 2010, when the four-stroke Moto2 class was introduced, the engines for the class were a 600 cc (36.6 cu in) inline-four engine made by Honda based on the CBR600RR with a maximum power output of 110 kW (150 hp). Starting in 2019, the engines were replaced by a Triumph 765 cc (46.7 cu in) triple engine.
  In 2019, the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) switched to using 2.0 L (122 cu in) turbocharged inline-four engines.
caption: BMW Formula One Engine M12/13, 1500cc turbocharged inline 4
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