What are straight and V-type engines?
Most car internal combustion (IC) engines are multi-cylinder engines and typically have their cylinders arranged in one of two ways, an ‘in-line’, or a ‘V’, although other combinations exits.
In an in-line engine, as the name indicates, all the cylinders are in a row.
In a V-type engine the cylinders are arranged in two rows of cylinders set at an angle to each other that align to a common crankshaft. Each group of cylinders making up one side of the ‘V’ is referred to as a bank of cylinders.
There are many different types of engine, as can be seen below. Typically, an internal combustion engine used within a car will be of the in-line or V-type.
Types of Engine
Tip 1: If you see/hear the term 'its a V8' or, 'its a V12', the 'V' simply refers to the cylinder arrangement. The '8' or '12' refers to the number of cylinders (total, not on each bank).
Tip 2: If you see/hear the term 'its a straight 6' or, 'its a straight 8', the 'straight' simply refers to the cylinder arrangement. The '6' or '8' refers to the total number of cylinders.
Additional Resources
https://thenewswheel.com/what-is-the-difference-between-inline-vs-v-engines
https://www.carthrottle.com/post/engineering-explained-the-pros-and-cons-of-different-engine-types
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straight_engine
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V_engine