Horex VR6 - how it all fits together

Six cylinders no wider than four, big vee-engine character from an inline-sized lump? Reborn German manufacturer Horex promises this and up to 200bhp from its 1218cc VR motor (V for vee, R for in a row).

Here’s how the engine works and the whole lot fits together. The bike features two banks of three cylinders set at a 15 degree vee within the same block.

Interleaving the pistons – each bank offset from shared crank – and bevelling the piston crowns means it has the compact squareness of an inline engine.

At this stage it’s not totally obvious which rivals this is supposed to steal sales from (it certainly doesn’t amplify the engine’s Smaller! Lighter! More power-dense! manifesto particularly well).

But it’s a proof-of-concept for a powertrain that will propel a whole range of machines and with track and road testing underway, everything looks on course.

VR6 engine explained