M270

When Mercedes-Benz launched its BlueDIRECT four-cylinder family at the end of November 2011, the governing idea was that one engine should mount either across the car or along it. The M270 is the transverse half, and it went first, in the second-generation B-Class. Most of its technology came down from the six- and eight-cylinder BlueDIRECT engines: third-generation piezo direct injection at 200 bar, multi-spark ignition, a single turbocharger. On top of that sat CAMTRONIC two-stage valve lift and lean-burn combustion where fuel quality allowed, plus a natural-gas version for the B 200 NGD.

It became the engine of the compact Mercedes-Benz — A, B, CLA and GLA — across seven power steps from 102 to 218 PS, built at Untertürkheim and at MDC Power in Kölleda, and supplied to Infiniti for the Q30 and QX30 that shared the platform. Replacement came in 2017 from the M260, near enough in architecture to count as a development rather than a successor: the same 2.0-liter bore and stroke, now with twin-scroll turbocharging, a particulate filter, and CONICSHAPE conical bore honing to cut piston-skirt friction.