Improved internal combustion engine with bearing cap dampening

An internal combustion engine having an engine block comprising at least one cylinder extending along a cylinder axis and a crankshaft which is mounted on the engine block by at least a first and a second main bearings so as to be rotatable around a longitudinal crankshaft axis, wherein the main hearings comprise each a first bearing portion and a second bearing portion, the second bearing portion being part of a bearing cap, and wherein the bearing cap is fixed on the engine block by fixing means, wherein at least the first bearing cap is connected to the engine block or to the second bearing cap by at least one dampening structure, the structure comprising a first support portion fixed on the bearing cap, a second support portion fixed on the engine block or on an adjacent bearing cap, and a dampening portion comprising an elastomeric material which connects the two support portions, and in that the dampening structure is configured so that any relative movement between the bearing cap and the engine block, or between two bearing caps, along a substantially horizontal direction, including longitudinal and transversal directions, results in the dampening portion being subject mainly to shear stress.