Ah, the W463 Mercedes-Benz G-Class. Sure, it feels like it’s hewn from a single chunk of granite, costs more than the moon, and can go just about anywhere, but none of that is important at the moment. See, we’re talking about the W463 G-Class today because it might have offered more engine layouts than any other single generation of car.
First, the criteria: Aspiration and fuel type don’t count, only number of cylinders and the way they’re arranged. That would complicate things even more, and we want to keep things simple. That being said, I’m still going to run through aspiration and fuel type because it makes the W463 seem even more astounding. Oh, and it has to be a single generation of car that wasn’t dramatically changed in the period of time between its launch and its final year on the market. Pretty simple, right?
Let’s start at the bottom of the range with the four-cylinder models. Models plural? Indeed. Not only did most of Europe get the 230GE from 1990 to 1995, Italy got a tax break special 200GE from 1990 to 1994. Both of these models featured M102 four-cylinder engines, and it shouldn’t be hugely surprising that neither were rocket ships. Still, look at that tiny little valve cover in that massive engine bay. Isn’t it adorable?
Mind you, even though the four-cylinder Geländewagens were slow, the five-cylinder G-Class models weren’t speedy either. Oh yes, Mercedes-Benz sold two different G-wagens with this quirkly cylinder configuration, both fueled by diesel. The 250GD sold between 1990 and 1992 made just 93 horsepower and 117 lb.-ft. of torque from its naturally-aspirated OM602 inline-five. Mercedes later rectified this issue with the turbocharged OM612-powered G 270 CDI sold between 2002 and 2006 which packed a much improved 154 horsepower and 295 lb.-ft. of torque.
Sticking with the inline format and bumping the cylinder count to six, Mercedes-Benz offered a bewildering array of inline-sixes in its iconic SUV. You could get a gasoline-powered M103, a gasoline-powered M104, an OM603 naturally-aspirated diesel, an OM603 turbodiesel, and an OM606 turbodiesel from the factory. That’s five different inline-sixes to choose from throughout the production run, incredible variety.
Mind you, those inline-sixes disappeared later in production, replaced by a pair of V6s. Those seeking six explosion chambers arranged in a vee could choose from an M112 gasoline V6 or an OM646 turbodiesel V6, both of which seem relatively adequate as means of propulsion. The diesel V6 did have a few issues as it aged, so I think I’d go with the gasser out of the pair.
However, if you’re looking for something much more than adequate, you’ll need to step up to a V8, and my word, did Mercedes ever give you V8s to choose from. There’s the OM648 biturbodiesel for those seeking something weird, found in the G 400 CDI. We never got that variant in America, but we did get the G 500 and two different G 550s. The G 500 featured the bulletproof M113 gasoline V8, while G 550s were a bit split. Models before 2015 came with the smooth naturally-aspirated M273, while later models got the four-liter biturbo M176.
Oh, and that’s before we get to the V8 AMG models. Straight out the gate, the G55 packed the supercharged version of the M113 V8 normally found in such hits as the SL55 AMG. Following that up was the G63 with its snarling, angry 5.5-liter biturbo M157 V8. Fabulous stuff.
Of course, some people just aren’t content with eight cylinders. For those who demand only the best, Mercedes cooked up a few in-house V12 models powered by the six-liter biturbo M279 engine. How does 738 lb.-ft. of torque in a reworked army truck sound? Terrifying, you say? Yeah, it’s likely far more power than the original G-Class designers had ever intended.
In case you’ve lost count due to the absurd array of engines on offer, the W463 G-Class packed inline-four, inline-five, inline-six, V6, V8, and V12 engines. That’s six different layout configurations in a single generation of car. None of us could think of anything that could match or beat this, so we’re turning this challenge over to you. Think you know of something that can beat the G-Class? Let us know in the comments below.
(Photo credits: Bring A Trailer, Mercedes-Benz)
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The G-Wagen’s crippling handicap is a small fuel tank, only about 20 gallons. You need the smallest diesel to have barely acceptable range.
Land Cruiser 7x series is down one:
I4 diesel and TD
I5 diesel
I6 diesel and gas
V6 gas
V8 TD
It’s probably up there in terms of number of specific engine monikers used. I can post a list later if anyone is interested.
Audi A6.
4cyl
2.5 5 cyl
VR6
V6
V8
W8
V10
Biturbo V10
W12
So, in the same generation, this is the best I can come up with for the 100/200/urS4/A6/S6/RS6 family:
C1: I4
C2: I4, I5
C3: I4, I5
C4: I4, I5, V6, V8
C5: I4, V6, V8
C6: I4, V6, V8, V10
C7: I4, V6, V8
C8: I4, V6, V8
AFAIK, the only longitudinal Audi to ever use the VR6 was the Q7 (the A3 and TT also used it, but those are transverse), the A6 family never used the W8 (that was exclusive to the B5 Passat) or W12 (that was in the D2, D3, and D4 A8, but not the A6), and the biturbo V10 doesn’t count as an additional layout relative to the NA V10.
in a single generation of car
No.
There are four generations of G-Class: W460 (1979–1992), W461 (1992–2022), first-generation W463 (1990–2018), second-generation W463 (2018–present), and W464 (2022–present, replacing W461). W461 and W464 are for the military, public authorities, and non-governmental organisations while the occasional stripped down civilian version of W461 had been sold (G 280 CDI EDITION.30 PUR, G 280 CDI Professional, and G 300 CDI Professional). Mechanically, W461 has the W463 chassis with body and interior taken from W460 body and 24-volt electrical system.
W463 has been extensively revised so it doesn’t share much with W460. Even the front end is different on W463 (more squarish nose). It’s same with first and second generation W463 (only the the headlamp washers, the push-button door handles, and the spare wheel cover bolted to the rear tailgate have been carried over to the second generation).
There had been W461 with two versions of V12 engines: a very rare G 63 AMG V12 with 444-hp V12 produced in 2002 only and the more common G 65 AMG (2012–2018).
Mercedes-Benz S-Class also had four-cylinder twin-turbo diesel engines (W221 S 250 CDI and W222 S 300 h).
Drat! No edit button.
I mean five, not four, generations. W460, W461, W463 (first), W463 (second), and W464.
So the G-Wagen is an omelette. Just a palette for whatever creativity you want to add to it.
If you take a more expansive view of what a “model” is, there are even more motors that this car got:
The Peugeot P4 for the French army, which was a G in almost every other respect, had two different diesel 4cyls, the two-liter XN8 (special for this model but related to what 505s had, and the 2.5-liter XD3, which a lot of Peugeots had fitted.
Also, in Greece there was a G-wagen powered by the 2.9-liter OM602 variant built by ELBO which even got its own Mercedes chassis code: W462.
I love weird G-wagens so much. That platform made got AROUND.
Sane me says I need to just get a nice, sensible Cayenne to tow the parsh to track weekends and tuck away neatly in my carport. Fun me says “import a strange G-wagen variant from abroad, confuse all of the Obligatory AMG G63-Havers in West Austin, and turn it into a yeehaw overland toy.”
I crave an older, crustier Puch G.
(made the rounds, got around—ignore my typo)
Can we count HF Predator engine swaps too? 😀
Is the G-wagonie thing even a “Car”?
If the G-Series _is_ a car then is the GM C/K too? (-;
A car the Chevrolet Nova ’68 to ’74 has a bunch of different engines from 4 cylinder Iron Duke to a few big block V8’s, just l4. l6 and v8 cylinder types though so that’s only three. )-;
Now if you add in the Pontiac, Buick and Oldsmobile rebadges then that’s another mess as they all had their own engine V8 families, I don’t think the Buick V6 made it into any and no diesels.
https://www.motortrend.com/features/chevrolet-nova-history-generations-specifications-photos/
Ford Fox-body.
2.3 inline 4 available in N/A carbureted or fuel injected flavors, or with a turbo, also in carbureted or fuel injected guise. Oh, and also with or without an intercooler.
200 or 250 cube inline six
Ford Cologne 2.8L V6
Ford Essex V6 in various displacements
Multiple iterations of the Ford small block V8 – from the humble 255 to 302s with an array of fuel delivery methods, to at least one version of the 5.8/351
A BNW inline 6 diesel
And if you want to view the SN95 platform as being an evolution of the Fox, which it rightfully is, then you have to include the Ford mod-motor V8.
Closest I’m getting that hasn’t already been posted is… the Tatra 815 had 5: I6, V6, V8, V10, V12, and the Volkswagen Phaeton had 5 as well: VR6, V6, V8, V10, W12.
That’s fewer than the G-Wagen and the Touareg (and the Phaeton is basically just the Touareg’s choices minus the 5-cylinder), though.
An a related not, can anyone think of a car that had both flat AND straight/vee engines in the same generation?
Does the N12 Nissan Cherry count?
There’s a few that I can think of right off the bat.
Citroën Visa (H2, I4)
Toyota Publica P30 (H2, I4)
Volkswagen Gol G1 (H4, I4)
Volkswagen Transporter T3 (H4, H6, I4, I5)
These are my least favorite vehicles
4th gen Ford Transit
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Transit#Fourth_generation_(2014)
You could get it in FWD, RWD and AWD.
You can get it with 2 different 2L 4cyl diesels, 2.2L and 2.4L 4 cyl diesels, a 3.2L 5 cyl diesel, a diesel-electric hybrid, a 2L and 2.3L gasoline 4 cyl, 3.5L and 3.7L V6 gas engine, a 3.5L turbo gas V6 aaand as a BEV.
And in terms of transmissions you had a 5 speed manual, 6 speed manual, 6 speed automatic, 10 speed automatic, the Ecoblue hybrid automatic and the single speed transmission used in the BEV version.
So in terms of engine ‘layouts’ (and sticking only to cylinder count and how it’s mounted in the engine bay) that’s least 4 in longitude form and at least 2 in transverse/FWD form.
So the Transit at the very least matches the Mercedes in this area.
Caterham 7? Factory versions have only had inline 3 and 4 cylinder and a V8, but pretty much everything from two-stroke twins to rotaries (rotarys?) have been fitted to the chassis when purchased as a kit.
People in the comments are not understanding the question, diffrent tunes or displacements of the same cylinder layout don’t count
Yep, a whole bunch of V8s is NOT a bunch of different layouts.
All EFI or did a carb’ed model sneak in early on?
1st gen Chevy S-10:
Gasoline:
1.95 L LR1 I4
2.0 L LQ2 I4
2.5 L L38/LN8 I4
2.8 L LR2/LL2 V6
4.3 L L35/LB4 V6
Diesel:
2.2 L LQ7 I4
And its stablemate the Sonoma got a:
4.3 L LB4 turbo V6 (the Syclone)
Land Cruiser 70 series had its fair share of engines, too. Although, I’m not sure if it counts as one model.
Wikipedia lists a dizzying amount, and I’m sure there’s more with so many locally-produced variants.
” Common engines in the 70 series include the 3F petrol engine (e.g., the FJ70), the 22R petrol engine (e.g. the RJ70/73 Bundera), the 2H diesel engine (e.g., the HJ75), the 1FZ petrol engine (e.g., the FZJ70/71/73/74/75/76/78/79), the 1PZ diesel engine (e.g., the PZJ70/73/77), the 1HZ diesel engine (e.g., the HZJ70/71/73/74/75/76/77/78/79),[5] the 1HD diesel engine (e.g. the HDJ78/79), and most recently, the 1VD diesel engine (e.g., the VDJ76). For a while (1987 until at least 1990) the BJ73 hardtop was available in the Italian and Spanish market with a VM five-cylinder HR588 2.5-litre turbodiesel—the “B” prefix was applied because the first four-cylinder diesel 70 series came with the 3B.”
And there’s also the 1GR-FE V6.
How about another utility vehicle, the classic Land Rover (from S1 to S3) with its various petrol and diesel engines.
inline four – IOE (inlet over exhaust)
inline four – OHV
inline six – OHV
V8 – OHV
Include the later Defender and you can add an inline five – OHC diesel engine as well.
Not forgetting the South African Defender with a BMW OHC straight 6
The most layouts for a model has to be Pamala Anderson.
I pretty sure the Camaro had 7 different engines 1 models year (It was a powernation trivia question)
Straight six and a whole bunch of V8s- 307, 327, 350, 396. Plus the COPO 427.
I’ll give an honorable mention to the Chevy Express which has had only I4, V6, and V8s, but according to Wikipedia has offered (20!!!) distinct engines in its history, including generations 1, 3, 4, and 5 of the small block V8s, and displacements ranging from 2.8L to 8.1L
Also shout out to the 1930s Cadillac lineup, which would let you spec your full sizer with a V8, V12, or V16.
Ah the days of the v16. So many cylinders
I would say the 1st gen Toureg but it only works if you count the VR layout separately. You had the VR6, V8, W12, diesel I5, V6, and V10.
Well the VR is staggereg cylinders a la W configuration, so I’d say it works.
A hot dog is a sandwich
That depends on whether you put onions on first or after, tho
No, it’s a taco.
The V6 was the VR6
So there was the gas VR6 and then the TDI V6. The TDI was a traditional 90 degree V6.
2000’s VAG was what I was thinking as well, My first thought was the B5 Passat which has I4, VR5, V6. and W8. Could have sworn these came with the VR6 and 2.5 I5 at some point, but apparently not.
VR6 and I5 didn’t fit in the B5 platform.
Yep. VR6 using 1 head separates it enough for me. Would even beat the G if VW was crazy enough to also shove the V12 in it like they did the q7 (I have a feeling it would not have fit)
2023 Jeep Wrangler, ties it in one year for powertrain options, granted it is essentially 4 different motors, but still.
3.6L V6
3.6L V6 eTorque
2.0L Turbo I4
3.0L V6 Turbo Diesel
392 V8
2.0L Turbo PHEV (4xe)
Europe (and maybe elsewhere too) also got the 2.2 Multijet II turbodiesel.
The 4th gen Ford Econoline has had 4 different: I6, V6, V8, V10
The 4th gen Silverado has 4 different: I4, I6, V6, V8
The W222 S-Class had 5: I4, I6, V6, V8, V12
So yeah, G Wagen wins