W-engine

A rare engine design, basically similar to a V-engine, but using three instead of two cylinder rows. The W-engine is less perfectly balanced than a V-engine, but this is compensated by balancer shafts; the main advantage of the W-engine is its short crankshaft which results in a very short block; the compact construction permits a 12-cylinder W-engine to be installed transversely in a mid-engine sports car