While the vast majority of engines have used the same piston and cylinder design for decades, there have been exceptions like the Commer Knocker.
Motor vehicle engine design has remained fairly standard throughout the history of the technology, although things have evolved quite a bit from the T-4 engine that powered Henry Ford’s pioneering Model T. Since the automobile became a common fixture in the early 20th century, the engines in most vehicles have featured a single piston per cylinder attached to a crankshaft via connecting rods. Mazda’s 13B rotary engine was one deviation from this standard. Still, the overwhelming majority of cars and trucks manufactured in the last 100-plus years have adhered to the standard single piston per cylinder design.
One notable exception was the TS3, a supercharged three-cylinder, two-stroke diesel engine used by the British commercial truck manufacturer Commer in the 1950s and ’60s.
