Cylinder-crankcase structure of cast housing elements connected in series

A cylinder-crankcase structure for a multi-cylinder internal combustion engine with a V-arrangement of the cylinders which is welded together of cast housing-elements that are connected in series with each other in a building block manner, each of the housing-elements including a unitary cross wall means having a bearing socket half for a crankshaft bearing and two cylinder shell means for each cylinder row, the two cylinder rows being offset with respect to one another substantially by the width of a connecting rod bearing and the separating plane of the housing-elements being offset with respect to the cylinder centers, characterized in that the cross wall means includes an upper boundary which, at least in plan view, extends substantially rectilinearly and at an inclination to the center cross plane of a respective housing element, and in that imaginary lines starting from said upper boundary and extending substantially in a neutral center surface of the cross wall means in the direction toward the area of the bearing socket are straight lines.