The turbo 231 V6 was a great engine. I'd love to put one into a boat for fun.
While I agree that 4-cyls make good power, the V6 is inherently more stable/balanced. It sounds better too. This was a huge factor in my deciding to go with the normally-aspirated V6 Mercedes SLK-320 versus its supercharged counterpart, the inline 4-cylinder SLK-230. The 320 sounded WAY better and had the torque/muscle that the smaller 4-cyl just didn't. The 6 has soul. V8s have more of it and V12s are ALL soul like James Brown baby!
Some day I'll get my hands on an old Jag XJS V12 or a BMW 850 V12. I'd love to have either just for how smooth they are and how bloody great they sound!