Supercharged multi-cylinder reciprocating piston-internal combustion engine with several exhaust gas turbochargers operating in parallel

A supercharged internal combustion engine comprising:

• a first group of engine cylinders,
• a first charging air line for supplying charging air to said first group of cylinders,
• a second group of engine cylinders,
• a second charging air line for supplying charging air to said second group of cylinders,
• a first exhaust gas operated turbocharger arranged in an engine exhaust line, said first turbocharger including means for charging air in a first supercharged charging air line,
• a second exhaust gas operated turbocharger arranged in the engine exhaust line in parallel to the first turbocharger, said second turbocharger including means for charging air in a second supercharged charging air line,
• cylinder group disabling means for selectively disabling the operation of the second group of cylinders by cutting off fuel flow thereto,
• turbocharger disabling means for selectively disabling the operation of the second turbocharger by disconnecting the engine exhaust line from the second turbocharger,
• charging air connecting means for connecting both the first and second supercharged charging air lines to the first and second charging air lines during engine operation with both the first and second groups of cylinders,
• charging air disconnecting means for disconnecting the second charging air line from the first and second supercharged air lines during engine operation with the second group of cylinders disabled,
• and atmospheric air supply means for communicating the second charging air line to local atmospheric air when the second group of cylinders is disabled and disconnected from the supercharged air lines.