By its very nature, the automobile has identity issues. Rarely can automakers afford to conceive, develop, and market a vehicle with just one customer set in mind, so they either find an acceptable compromise or offer a slate of options to reach a broad range of customers. That can then lead to some strange bedfellows on the showroom floor, including dozens of instances of cars, trucks, and vans that offer four-, six-, and eight-cylinder engine options all at once.
While praising the remarkably long-lasting Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana full-size vans, I noted that the vans had, late in their run, joined a small list of vehicles available with factory-available fours, sixes, and eights all in the same model year. Predictably, several commenters noted other vehicles on that list, which of course warranted an afternoon spent further researching all the vehicles I could think of that might qualify for that list.
Not saying I exhausted every single instance of a vehicle offering such a wide variety of powerplants, thus covering the spectrum from economy to power, but I came up with enough to offer some broad generalized insights about postwar American history and to justify that afternoon. (If you can think of any more, keep your suggestions coming in the comments.)
4/6/8 Criteria
First, some ground rules for my search. I didn’t care about the type of fuel or the cylinder configuration, only the actual cylinder count. I also didn’t consider the recent (and not-so-recent) multi-displacement systems that electronically shut off certain cylinders; I wanted actual effort on the part of the automakers to build a vehicle small or light enough for a four-cylinder to push around but also with enough room in the engine bay for a V-8. And I’m not counting versions built with an additional engine choice by a company other than the original carmaker (sorry, Ford Capri Mk1). Some British models did offer fours, sixes, and eights at various times in their model runs, but not at the same time, so I’m not counting them. I am counting vehicles that used engines in a hybrid configuration as well as vehicles that offered fours, sixes, and eights at the same time but not in the same market.
Based on those criteria, this appears to be a phenomenon that generally occurred in three different time periods in postwar history: the mid- to late Sixties, when American carmakers engaged in a horsepower war at the same time that the American car-buying public started to demand greater thrift in their cars; the mid-Seventies into the Eighties, when American carmakers and car buyers, shocked by the oil crises and the need for greater pollution controls, nevertheless still wanted power, still wanted size, and still hadn’t processed the geopolitical implications of the price of oil; and the mid-2010s to the present, when the carmakers’ addiction to ratcheting vehicle size (and ratcheting profits) put them at odds with equally more stringent CAFE figures, leading them to implement technological solutions like turbocharged and hybridized four-cylinders to try to maximize power from minimal engine sizes.
That said, not every vehicle that I or our readers identified fits neatly into those eras, and other than a few gaps here and there, 4/6/8 vehicles have been with us pretty consistently since the Sixties.
Many thanks to those of you who chimed in on the original version of this article with your suggestions for further models to investigate. I’ve tried to include all of those below.
1964 to 1970 Chevrolet Chevy II
GM brochure image
The earliest instance of a postwar American 4/6/8 vehicle we’ve found dates back to 1964 when Chevrolet dropped a 283-cu.in. V-8 into the Chevy II. The compact already had the Super-Thrift 153 four-cylinder and the Hi-Thrift 194 six-cylinder, and both engines used the small-block V-8’s bellhousing bolt pattern, so it didn’t take much engineering to add the V-8. In 1966, Chevrolet relegated the 153 to the basest of base-model Chevy IIs, but the division still kept the engine on the books through the 1970 model year.
1966 to 1969 Checker
Brochure image courtesy Internet Checker Taxi Archives.
If thrifty Sixties cars make perfect candidates for the 4/6/8 trifecta, then of course we have to include Checker (we considered Rambler and Studebaker, but both of those carmakers used six-cylinders as base engines), which, as it turns out, qualified for the list sometime in the mid- to late Sixties when it offered Perkins four-cylinder diesels alongside the Chevrolet-sourced 230-cu.in. straight-six and 327-cu.in. V-8. According to the Internet Checker Taxi Archives, the Perkins option lasted from 1967 to 1969 here in the States, while Israel-bound Checkers received the diesels starting in 1966. The ICTA also notes that Studebaker offered a Perkins diesel in 1963, which would put that car on the list as well.
1967 to 1971 International Harvester Scout 800
Image courtesy OldCarBrochures.
International Harvester, like Pontiac, took a unique approach to crafting a four-cylinder by essentially lobbing off half of a V-8’s cylinders, so the IH Scout 800, with a base 152-cu.in. slant-four, easily accommodated International’s V-8 starting in 1967. To fill the gap between the two, International used AMC’s 232-cu.in. straight-six for a brief period in the late Sixties, though as we can see from the brochure pages above, the company didn’t seem to publicize that option well.
1974 to 1976 Holden LH/LX Torana
The Torana had started out as a four-cylinder car in 1967 but quickly added sixes and then, with the third generation LH, gained a V-8. Its 1.9L Opel cam-in-head four-cylinder was the same as the Opel GT’s and shared spec lists with the Holden 2.85- and 3.3-liter six-cylinders and 4.2-liter and 5.0-liter V-8s. Or, at least, it did until midway through the LX run, when Holden decided to split off the four-cylinder-powered cars into a separate model called the Sunbird, leaving the Torana with just the sixes and 5.0L.
1975 to 1986 Ford Mustang
Image courtesy OldCarBrochures.
With the move to the Pinto platform, the Ford Mustang II gained a four-cylinder, but lost a V-8. Ford rectified that in 1975 by offering the 2.3-liter four-cylinder, 2.8-liter V-6, and the 302-cu.in. V-8 all at the same time. That lineup remained the same until the Fox-platform era of the Mustang, when the 2.3-liter gained, lost, and regained a turbocharged version; the V-6 was replaced with a straight-six, which was in turn replaced with a 3.8-liter V-6; and when the 302 was briefly replaced with a smaller 255-cu.in. V-8. By the time the 1987 facelift came around, Ford decided to stick with just the 2.3-liter and the 302.
Various Fox-platform Fords
Speaking of the Fox platform and the 2.3-liter Pinto engine that soldiered on beyond the Pinto itself, plenty more Fords of the late Seventies and early to mid-Eighties offered fours, sixes, and eights in the same model year. The compact Ford Fairmont did so from its launch in 1978 through 1981, after which Ford dropped the 302 from its option sheet. The midsize Ford Granada took on a 3.8-liter V-6 and the 255-cu.in. V-8 to accompany the 2.3-liter four in its last model year. The Granada’s replacement, the Fox-platform LTD, eventually qualified for this list in mid-1984 and 1985 with the 5.0-liter-powered LTD LX. The ninth-generation Thunderbird also utilized the 2.3-, 3.8-, and 5.0-liter lineup for its entire run.
1977 to 1979 Chevrolet Monza
Image courtesy OldCarBrochures
GM demanded a lot from its H-body cars. The Vega was supposed to be Chevrolet’s import-killer, but then it wasn’t. The Monza was supposed to be the rotary-powered economy car, but then it wasn’t. And with all that GM had invested into the platform, the company couldn’t simply drop it, so GM transformed the Monza into a sort of be-everything-for-everybody kind of car. The Vega engine gave way to the Pontiac-sourced 2.5-liter Iron Duke four-cylinder for the mileage-conscious customers in 1978; a pair of Buick-sourced V-6s helped the company wiggle around emissions laws; and the 305-cu.in. V-8 that had become an option the year prior continued through 1979 for those seeking what performance they could get in the late Seventies.
1977 to 1979 AMC Concord and Spirit
Image courtesy OldCarBrochures
American Motors didn’t have a four-cylinder of its own until 1984, long after the company discontinued its passenger car V-8s. However, AMC did make a deal with Volkswagen/Audi to purchase a version of that company’s 121-cu.in. overhead-camshaft four-cylinder engine, starting in 1977. That engine, largely found in later Gremlins, also made its way into the Concord, which offered the venerable 232-cu.in. and 258-cu.in. straight-sixes out of the Jeep CJ and AMC’s 304-cu.in. V-8 in 1978 and 1979, as well as the Spirit, which could be had with the same lineup in 1979 only.
1980 to 1981 Jeep CJ series
AMC brochure image
Speaking of Jeep’s CJ series, it did indeed have a V-8 from 1972 to 1981. And of course it had straight-sixes during that time. It did not, however, get the Volkswagen/Audi four-cylinder. Instead, starting in 1980, American Motors plunked the Pontiac-sourced Iron Duke 2.5-liter four-cylinder under the CJ’s hood.
1980 to 1986 Holden VC/VH/VK Commodore
Photo courtesy Manheim auctions
Similar to what Chevrolet did in the Sixties and what AMC did in the Eighties, Holden hoped a couple cylinders off its existing straight-six engine to create a four-cylinder that was meant to increase mileage called the Starfire. That Starfire 1.9-liter four-cylinder joined its 2.85-liter six-cylinder counterpart and a 4.2-liter V-8 across the early Eighties VC and VH Commodores in Australia and on through the VK in New Zealand.
1982 to 1985 Chevrolet Camaro and Pontiac Firebird
GM brochure image
And while we’re on the topic of the Iron Duke, let’s not forget that for a few years the third-generation Camaro used the four-cylinder in its base Sport Coupe version, which also offered GM’s 2.8-liter V-6 and the 305-cu.in. small-block V-8 as options. The third-generation Firebird also offered the same engine lineup those same years, though in both its base and its luxury-focused S/E versions.
1982 to 1986 Rover SD1
Photo by Charles01 / Wikimedia
When Rover revised the SD1 sedan for 1982, it added a Morris-produced 2.0-liter O-series four-cylinder for European-market versions. A VM Motor four-cylinder diesel also appeared as an option, along with a Leyland PE166 straight-six and the 3.5-liter V-8 best known for powering the American-market versions.
1991 to 2002 Dodge Dakota
Stellantis Media image
From the start, the Dakota mid-size pickup had a four-cylinder from the K-cars as well as a 3.9-liter V-6, but in 1991 Dodge took a cue from Carroll Shelby’s version of the Dakota and started to offer the 5.2-liter LA-series V-8. The K-series four eventually gave way to an AMC-built 2.5-liter four-cylinder, but the Dakota remained a 4/6/8 pickup for a good 11 years – through 2002, when Chrysler put the 2.5-liter to bed.
1992 to 2020 Mercedes-Benz W124/W210/W211/W212/W213 E-Class
Hemmings file photo
The Mercedes-Benz E-Class had been one of those cars defined by a solid and reliable straight-six with the occasional four-cylinder diesel for European cab drivers. That all changed with the 500E in the early Nineties, leading to what is probably the longest run for any vehicle to offer a four, a six, and an eight. The many permutations over those 28 years are too numerous to list here, but the E-Class seems to have seen it all, including some five-cylinder engines, until just recently.
Various years BMW 5-Series
BMW’s 5-series gets on the list, though sporadically. The inclusion of the V-8 in the E34 from 1992 to 1996 gave it at least one of each, then the diesel four-cylinders in the E39 landed it on the list again from 2000 to 2003. It wasn’t until 2007, though, that the 5-Series consistently had a four-, six-, and eight-cylinder engine in its lineup, and it appears to have consistently done so through the E60, F10, and G30 years. Also, at least during the E60 years, the 5-Series had a V10, making it the only 4/6/8/10 vehicle we’ve yet seen.
1998 to 2000 Mercedes-Benz W163
Mercedes-Benz Newsroom photo
While we in the States saw V-6 and V-8 versions of the W163 chassis SUV in the ML320, ML430, and ML55 AMG, Mercedes-Benz also apparently offered a stripper version with its 2.3L four-cylinder and a manual transmission in Europe for a couple of years. A five-cylinder diesel also ran concurrent with those fours, sixes, and eights.
2001 to 2004 Volkswagen Passat
VW press photo
Like I said up above, I only care about cylinder count, not cylinder configuration, so the 4.0L W8 that appeared in the facelifted B5 Passat (apparently known as the B5.5) – offered alongside a 2.8-liter V-6 and multiple four-cylinders – gets it in the door. The Passat A5.5 even gets bonus points for offering a 2.3-liter VR5 during this period (through 2003).
2008 to 2012 BMW 3-Series
BMW press photo
This one’s debatable, if only because some people might draw a distinction between the M3 and the rest of the 3-Series. For those that don’t, the E90/E92/E93 qualifies with its S65B40 4.0-liter V-8, offered at the same time as a variety of fours and sixes in the non-M 3-Series cars.
2009-2017 Mercedes-Benz S-Class
Mercedes-Benz Pressroom photo
Diesels provide so many ways for so many German cars to get on this list, including the S-Class with its preponderance of V-6s, V-8s, and V-12s. The W221 had the S250 CDI with a 2.2-liter turbocharged diesel that provided surprising performance while the W222 used the same engine but in a twin-turbo hybrid configuration. A four-cylinder gas engine was also reportedly available in the S-Class in the Chinese market, though details on that are scant. Of note, the 5.98-liter V-12 available during these years puts the W221 and W222 into an even more rarified class: cars with four-, six-, eight-, and 12-cylinder engines.
2012 to 2016 Ford FG Falcon
Brochure image.
As with all Australian Falcons, a straight-six engine was a must, and the Falcon FG carried over the 5.4-liter V-8 from the previous generation of Falcon (soon to be replaced with the Coyote 5.0-liter V-8). But by 2012, Ford of Australia also added a version of the Falcon FG powered by the 2.0-liter EcoBoost four-cylinder, which remained in the lineup until the end of Australian Ford production.
2015 to 2017 Ford Mustang
Ford Media image.
Speaking of the EcoBoost, in 2015 it became the first four-cylinder to power a Mustang since the end of the Fox-platform generation. It also turned the traditional 4, then 6, then 8 hierarchy on its head, with the 3.7-liter Cyclone V-6 as the S550 Mustang’s base engine and the 2.3-liter EcoBoost and the 5.0-liter Coyote V-8 as optional engines. After 2017, though, Ford decided the V-6 was unnecessary, leaving the Mustang with just the four- and eight-cylinder engines.
2016 to 2024 Chevrolet Camaro
GM Media image.
In yet another instance of Ford and Chevrolet’s neverending tit-for-tat, the sixth-generation Camaro debuted a year after the S550 Mustang with a 2.0L turbocharged Ecotec four-cylinder, a 3.6-liter V-6, and a couple LT-series V-8s. Unlike the Mustang, however, the Camaro continues to offer a V-6.
2016 to 2019 Cadillac CTS
GM Media image.
The third-generation CTS debuted in 2014 with a 2.0-liter Ecotec four-cylinder (a first for the CTS) and a pair of 3.6-liter V-6s, then in 2016 added the supercharged 6.2-liter LT4 V-8 for the CTS-V. All three remained in the lineup until the CT5 replaced the CTS after 2019.
2018 to present Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana
The Chevrolet Express in one of its natural settings: a thoroughly anonymous office park. GM Media photos.
As previously discussed, the Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana seemed to use just more varieties of engines than any other platform in history, and GM keeps plugging more engines into the vans, including the Duramax 2.8-liter four-cylinder in 2017. Along with a 4.3-liter V-6, added to the lineup in 2018, and some variety of GM’s LS- or LT-series V-8s, the Express/Savana may be the largest vehicle to qualify for this list.
2022 Cadillac CT5 and 2019 to 2020 CT6
GM Media image.
Bear with me, we’re almost done. Both the CT5 midsize Cadillac and the CT6 full-size Cadillac also qualify for this list with turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinders, 3.6-liter naturally aspirated and 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged V-6s, and V-8s (a 6.2-liter supercharged LT4 in the 2022 CT5-V Blackwing as well as a 4.2-liter LTA in the CT6 and a twin-turbocharged V-8 in the CT6-V). Good luck finding any of those LTA CT6s – Cadillac built just 1,500 of them before axing the model.
2019 to 2021 Chevrolet and GMC GMT T1XX pickups
GM Media image.
Speaking of the 4.3-liter V-6, GM made it available in the GMT T1XX Chevrolet and GMC full-size pickups until 2021. Given that the 2.7-liter turbocharged four-cylinder has been with that generation of trucks from the beginning as well as the LT 5.3-liter V-8, these trucks can also claim 4/6/8 status.
2019 to present BMW G11 7-Series
BMW press photo
The turbocharged four-cylinder trend of the late Teens extended to the 7-Series with a 2.0L turbocharged four available both on its own and in a hybrid system. In fact, BMW has turbocharged every engine it’s so far put in the 7-Series, including the 3.0-liter six-cylinder, 4.4-liter V-8, and the 6.6-liter V-12, the last putting it in the company of the S-Class as the only other 4/6/8/12 car.
Honorable Mentions
2009 Chevrolet Colorado ZQ8 Crew Cab. GM Media image.GM Media image.
Finally, we have a few vehicles that don’t precisely meet our criteria, but still merit a mention anyway.
In 2004, GM did something it had never before done: offer an inline five-cylinder engine. The Colorado/Canyon twins and the Hummer H3 were the main benefactors of the straight-six substitute that accompanied the base four-cylinder engine. This probably wouldn’t be worth discussing in this context were it not for the LH8 version of the LS-series V-8s, which GM installed in those three trucks in 2008, making them the only known 4/5/8 vehicles.
Five-cylinder engines led to a couple of 5/6/8 lineups, first in the 1981 to 1985 Mercedes-Benz S-Class, then later in the 2007 to 2011 Volvo XC90
Then there’s the Porsche 914. We all know the story about its base flat-four and the 914-6 version with the flat-six, but Porsche also made two 914-8s with a 3.0-liter quad-cam flat-eight. Not quite production, but also not worth skipping over in this context.
If we want to go bigger, we could count the 1994 to 2003 Dodge Ram, which could be had with the six-cylinder Cummins, the LA-series V-8, and the Magnum V-10 (and the 2004-2006 Dodge Ram, with the Cummins, the Hemi V-8, and the Viper V-10). This list doesn’t include pre-war vehicles, but we could also point to Cadillac’s V-8, V-12, and V-16 offerings during the multi-cylinder wars.
Finally, if rotaries count, the Holden HJ/HX Premier had one alongside six- and eight-cylinder engines.
So, did we get ’em all? Are there others worth discussing? And with EVs on the horizon, will we ever see the likes of these vehicles again once the Camaro, Express, and CT5 ride off into the sunset? Or maybe we’ll start to see new trifectas, with gas, EV, and nuclear engines. Let’s revisit in the year 2065.
Editor’s Note: This article originally ran on March 18, 2021. It has since been updated with additional information and layout changes.
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