Coating cylinder bores without prior activation of the surface

A cylinder of a piston-type internal combustion engine, wherein the cylinder comprises at least one bore with an inner shell formed from a base material, wherein in the region of the bore the base material is at least partially provided with a layer system and a first boundary surface is thus formed between the base material and the layer system and the layer system comprises at least one thermally sprayed layer and the thermally sprayed layer forms at least partially the shell surface of the bore and can act there as a functional layer and wherein the first boundary surface does not comprise any profiling applied for the activation of the surface apart from the surface roughness resulting from the manufacture of the bore, characterized in that the material of the layer system comprises molybdenum and at least one further element in the region of the boundary surface to the base material, hereinafter referred to as the boundary surface material, and is bonded to the base material by a chemical bond and the boundary surface material differs from the material of the functional layer in its composition and/or structure.