Inline Five

The Inline-five engine or Straight-five is an internal combustion engine with five cylinders. The cylinders are positioned in a straight line along one crankshaft. It can be powered by different types of fuels, including gasoline, diesel, and natural gas.

Inline fives are used in cars less often than inline fours. Although they are considered smoother to run, they are less balanced and larger, which forces manufacturers to use more complex designs to properly balance and fit the engines in vehicles. Inline five engines are said to sound similar to V10s, which, combined with their rarity in use among most motor vehicles, gives them a distinctive sound profile.

The layout is often associated with Audi, especially in motorsport. Despite some attention from other manufacturers, including Volvo and Ford, the design has struggled to keep its place in the automobile market due to its worse innate fuel efficiency to the inline four and three and worse innate power and torque to the inline six. As a result, this engine layout has seen a gradual decline in its already limited popularity.

References

  1. ↑ "The Advantages And Disadvantages Of The Inline Five-Cylinder Engine | CarThrottle". www.carthrottle.com. 2017-02-09. Retrieved 2026-05-08.
  2. ↑ Ma, Adrian (2025-12-10). "This Rare Engine Type Has Been In More Cars Than You Think - And For Good Reason". CarBuzz. Retrieved 2026-05-08.
  3. ↑ Oliva, Jacob (2025-09-09). "Deadline Set For Audi RS3's 5-Cylinder Demise". CarBuzz. Retrieved 2026-05-08.