The V3 engine is a V engine with two cylinders in one bank and one cylinder in the other bank. It is a rare configuration, which has been mostly used in two-stroke engines for motorcycles competing in Grand Prix motorcycle racing.
The first example was the 1955 DKW 350.[1] The 1968 Suzuki RP68 was intended to compete in the 1968 season, however a rule change mandating single-cylinder engines meant that the 501NaN1 RP68 never raced.[2] [3]
Honda later revived the layout for the 1982–1984 Honda NS500/NSR500 Grand Prix racing motorcycles.[4] The 1983–1984 Honda MVX250F and 1985-1987 Honda NS400R sports bikes also used V3 engines.
A related layout was the W3 engine, although this placed all three cylinders in the same plane, but none of them in the same bank. This was used for the 1905 - 1915 four-stroke Anzani engine, which was used in motorcycle and aircraft applications.