UNLEASHING POWER: THE INLINE-4 ENGINES REVOLUTIONIZING AUTO PERFORMANCE

The inline-4 engine has long been a workhorse, a scrappy, reliable engine that’s been built on a budget and carried boring, bananal car interiors to unprecedented speeds. But the more time we spend with the inline-4, the more apparent it becomes that it’s really a camouflaged beast in disguise. It’s an engine that’s constantly evolving, being pushed almost to the point of destruction, with just enough life left to continue the war. It’s an engine fundamentally resistant to meddling do-gooders who try to get it to work like a good itinerant. For decades, the inline-4 has been a reliable choice in almost every kind of car, from the most humble subcompact up, all the way to the most powerful supercars. In this article, we’ll dive into how those engines have developed, taking a look at five of the most important, most powerful inline-4 powerplants ever produced.

THE PINNACLE OF POWER: MERCEDES-AMG M139 (MODEL S)

At the pinnacle of the inline-4 engineering is the Mercedes-AMG M139, the most powerful series-produced turbocharged four-cylinder in the world. With up to 421 horsepower and a block crafted using the ‘One Man, One Engine’ philosophy, the M139 is the performance zenith you’d expect from the Mercedes-AMG, a car of craftsmanship that is more engineering than car.

ECOBOOST-BOOSTED FORD: POWER MEETS EFFICIENCY

Ford’s 2.3-litre EcoBoost engine sets the benchmark for power and eco in one engine. Producing up to 350 horsepower and spanning the Bronco to the Mustang, this engine comes turbocharged with direct fuel injection. Ford’s powertrain experts engineered it for maximum power, decreased fuel-consumption, and extended engine longevity, exemplifying how Ford advances engine technology.

MITSUBISHI 4B11T: BREAKING THE MOULD

The 4B11T inline-4 from Mitsubishi, which powers models like the Evo X, puts the previously beleaguered inline-4 in a new category of performance. Starting life as an all-aluminium engine with a claimed 300 horsepower, its top-end power output of 440 horsepower in its super-Ralliart version is an engineering achievement unto itself, and made the engine a favourite among enthusiasts and modders.

VOLKSWAGEN'S EA888: A LEGACY OF RELIABILITY

Perhaps Volkswagen’s best-known engine made for a wide array of vehicles is the EA888 engine series, which powers everything from the Golf GTI to the Audi A3, as well as the Audi TT, VW Touareg, VW Passat, and Skoda Octavia, among others. It’s available in turbocharged and non-turbo versions, and the turbo puts out up to 329 horsepower. Clean, efficient and long-lived, this engine has helped to establish Volkswagen as the go-to manufacturer for good, all-around powerplants.

HONDA K20C1: REDEFINING FRONT-WHEEL DRIVE PERFORMANCE

More than anything, it’s the Honda K20C1 engine that elevated front-wheel-drive cars to cult-status in performance circles. In its stalwart base of Civic form, the engine produces 320 horsepower, and leads the Honda Civic Type R to take record-setting laps at the Nürburgring. State-of-the-art turbocharging and ‘reverse’ V-TEC engineering reveal Honda’s forward-thinking efforts to unlock the power of every drop of fuel.

THE STATUS OF INLINE-4 ENGINES: A TESTAMENT TO AUTOMOTIVE EVOLUTION

Today, there is no other engine of this kind that can lay claim to this kind of status. However humble their beginning, the inline-4 powered some of the fastest, most exciting cars that have ever been produced. It has dominated Formula 1 racing while laying the groundwork for the most advanced turbocharged, direct-injected engines for the modern, hybrid-powered marketplace. In a revolutionary shift, the engines made the cars possible, and the cars made the engines possible. In a word, these engines made cars.