The normally aspirated 3.6 litre flat 6 engine came in three varieties - the M64/01 as fitted to the standard Carrera 2/4 with manual 2WD (Carrera 2) or 4WD (Carrera 4), the M64/02 as fitted to the Tiptronic-equipped Carrera 2 and the M64/03 as fitted to the Carrera RS. All of these versions were fitted with dual spark plugs per cylinder and hence used dual distributors. The detailed specifications are below:

The M64 engine is oil and air cooled and, as a consequence, has a lot of oil (11.5 litres) when compared to a more usual water cooled engine. Air is blown over the engine from the main crankshaft driven fan and is also drawn over the engine as the vehcle moves forward. Oil is routed through pipes along the right hand sill to the front mounted oil cooler which is called into play once the oil thermostat (in front of the right rear wheel) opens. The engine uses a dry sump lubrication system which avoids oil starvation issues in extreme G-force conditions.

Using 2 valves per cylinder with a single chain driven overhead camshaft per cylinder bank operating both inlet and exhaust valves via rocker arms, the engine design is heavily based on that of the GT1 racer.

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