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Aston Martin Straight-6 Engine Could Come Back Thanks To Mercedes-Benz

The Lagonda Straight-6 is one of the most celebrated six-cylinder engines in the world. Used by Aston Martin for plenty of decades ever since the days of the DB2, the long-lived powerplant was dropped in favor of V8 and V12 plants. Now, however, the British automaker is one step away of reintroducing the inline-6 thanks to its technical partnership with Daimler.
Mercedes-Benz M256 inline-6 engine 20 photos
Photo: Daimler AG
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First of all, it’s worth remembering Aston Martin and Daimler signed an agreement in 2013, allowing the Gaydon-based company to use the 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 from Mercedes-AMG in its cars. The German manufacturer also holds a 5-percent stake in Aston Martin, which paves the way of reviving the straight-6 with the help of Mercedes-Benz’s know-how in engine technology.

Speaking to Australian motoring publication Drive, the DB11's vehicle line director - Paul Barritt - let it slip that “you can see the direction of travel within the industry and we'd be foolish not to be looking at the sixes, and we're still looking at eights and twelves." The plant Barritt is referring to is Mercedes' M256, an all-new 3.0-liter I6 with two turbos and AMG potential.

The mild-hybrid engine is already available in the S-Class facelift, with the S500 developing 435 horsepower and 384 pound-feet of torque. Upcoming AMG 53 models will use an even more potent iteration of the M256 I6, which will produce more get-up-and-go than today's AMG 43 V6-engined models. Also known as integrated starter generator or ISG, the electric motor of the M256 is packaged in the bell housing between the engine and transmission.

Whichever way you look at it, Aston Martin has all the right reasons to be interested in the M256 straight-six engine. The biggest argument is the company’s push for hybridization and electrification, two directions that Aston Martin cannot get wrong if it wants to survive in the following decade.

On that note, what sort of modern Aston Martin model would you imagine with a twin-turbocharged I6 from Mercedes-Benz under the hood?
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About the author: Mircea Panait
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After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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