The four cylinder debuted in the Consul as a 1.5-litre engine. Bore and stroke are 79.37mm ×76.2mm (3.12in ×3.00in) for a total displacement of 1,508cc (92.0cuin). With its standard compression ratio of 6.8:1 it produces 47bhp (35kW) at 4400rpm. It was enlarged in 1956 to 1,702cc (103.9cuin) for the Mark II Consul by increasing both the bore and stroke to 82.55mm ×79.5mm (3.25in ×3.13in), raising power to 59bhp (44kW). This engine continued in the Mark III car, which dropped the Consul name and was now called the Zephyr 4.
The six-cylinder Zephyr engine was used widely. Displacement was 2,262cc (138.0cuin) in early versions that had the same bore and stroke as the 1.5-litre 4-cylinder. It was produced with two available compression ratios: 6.8:1 in the Zephyr, with an output of 68bhp (51kW), and 7.5:1 in the top-of-range Zodiac, with an output of 71bhp (53kW). The six-cylinder grew to 2,553cc (155.8cuin) in the 1956 Mark II when its bore and stroke were increased to match the 1.7-litre inline four.