referring now to the figures of the drawings in detail and first , particularly , to fig1 thereof , there is shown a first preferred embodiment of an engine configuration according to the invention . an internal combustion engine 10 that is embodied as a twelve - cylinder spark ignition engine has two separate cylinder banks 11 and 12 with a number of cylinders 13 and 14 and , respectively , 15 . those cylinders , which form a group with respect to their function , are respectively denoted by the same reference numeral . a first exhaust gas tract 1 and a second exhaust gas tract 2 extend separated from one another in a dual - flow configuration along their entire running length . a turbocharger 20 is provided in the first exhaust gas tract 1 and is placed , with its compressor 22 , in an intake line 17 . the compressor 22 supplies the air plenum 18 , which is shared by both cylinder banks 11 , 12 , with an air - mass flow via the intake line 17 . exhaust gas lines of the cylinders 15 of the second cylinder bank 12 lead into an exhaust gas collecting line 40 of the second exhaust gas tract 2 in which a first catalytic converter 41 , in particular a precatalytic converter , and a second catalytic converter 42 , in particular a main catalytic converter , and a muffler 43 are provided . the cylinders 15 are configured such that they can be deactivated , i . e . shut off , or at least their throughput be reduced . in the first exhaust gas tract 1 , a turbine 21 of the turbocharger 20 is provided in a first exhaust gas line 23 which collects exhaust gas of exhaust gas lines of the cylinders 13 and channels it into an exhaust gas collecting line 26 of the first exhaust gas tract 1 . a first catalytic converter 27 , in particular a precatalytic converter , and a second catalytic converter 28 , in particular a main catalytic converter , and a muffler 29 are provided along the running length of the exhaust gas collecting line 26 . upstream of the first catalytic converter 27 , an exhaust gas line 24 ends at a mouth 25 , wherein the exhaust gas line 24 collects , via exhaust gas lines that are not specifically denoted , exhaust gas of the cylinders 14 of the first cylinder bank 11 and feeds it to the exhaust gas collecting line 26 by passing the turbocharger 20 . the cylinders 14 are configured such that they can be deactivated or at least their throughput be reduced . fig2 and 3 illustrate an advantageous embodiment which is modified with respect to the configuration shown in fig1 wherein a further turbocharger 50 is provided in the first exhaust gas tract 1 . the configuration in fig2 and 3 corresponds largely to the configuration of fig1 and reference is made to fig1 for its explanation . unlike in fig1 , a turbine 51 of the turbocharger is provided in the exhaust gas line 24 such that the turbine 51 can be supplied with exhaust gas of the cylinders 19 . as can be seen in fig2 , the two turbochargers 20 and 50 are dimensioned to be equal whereas , in accordance with fig3 , the turbochargers 20 and 50 are dimensioned to be different from one another . the cylinders 19 are expediently configured such that they cannot be deactivated . the compressor 52 of the turbine 50 feeds compressed air into the common intake line 17 and supplies together with the compressor 22 of the turbocharger 20 the common air plenum 18 . a respective part of the cylinders 13 and 19 of the first cylinder bank 11 , which are assigned to the first exhaust gas tract 1 , bypasses in each case one of the two turbochargers 20 and 50 , to be precise their turbines 21 , 51 , that are assigned to the first cylinder bank 11 or the first exhaust gas tract 1 . exhaust gas of the cylinders 13 bypasses the second turbocharger 50 , while exhaust gas of the cylinders 19 bypasses the first turbocharger 20 . fig4 explains in a schematic representation a further preferred embodiment of the invention . an internal combustion engine 10 , which is embodied as a twelve - cylinder spark ignition engine , has two separate cylinder banks 11 and 12 with a number of cylinders 13 and 14 and , respectively , 15 . a first exhaust gas tract 1 and a second exhaust gas tract 2 extend separated from one another in a dual - flow configuration along their entire running length . a first turbocharger 20 is provided with its turbine 21 in the first exhaust gas tract 1 and with its compressor 22 in an intake line 17 a . the compressor 22 supplies an air - mass flow to the air plenum 18 a of the first cylinder bank 11 . a second turbocharger 30 is provided with its turbine 31 in the second exhaust gas tract 2 and with its compressor 32 in an intake line 17 b . the compressor 32 supplies an air - mass flow to the air plenum 18 b of the second cylinder bank 12 . exhaust gas lines of the cylinders 14 of the first cylinder bank 11 merge via their bypass exhaust gas line 24 into an exhaust gas collecting line 26 of the first exhaust gas tract 1 wherein a first catalytic converter 27 , in particular a precatalytic converter , and a second catalytic converter 28 , in particular a main catalytic converter , and a muffler 29 are provided along the running length of the exhaust gas collecting line 26 . the cylinders 14 are preferably configured such that they can be deactivated , i . e . shut off . a further group of cylinders 13 feeds their exhaust gas via exhaust gas lines into an exhaust gas collecting line 23 , which feeds the exhaust gas to the turbine 21 of the first turbocharger 20 . the bypass exhaust gas line 24 feeds , at its mouth 25 downstream of the turbine 21 , into the exhaust gas collecting line 26 . the layout at the second cylinder bank 12 is constructed in a mirror symmetry to the first cylinder bank 11 . exhaust gas lines of the cylinders 15 of the second cylinder bank 12 feed , via a bypass exhaust gas line 46 , into an exhaust gas collecting line 40 of the second exhaust gas tract 2 , wherein the bypass exhaust gas line 46 feeds into the exhaust gas collecting line 40 at a mouth 45 . a first catalytic converter 41 , in particular a precatalytic converter , and a second catalytic converter 42 , in particular a main catalytic converter , and a muffler 43 are provided along the running length of the exhaust gas collecting line 40 . the cylinders 15 are preferably configured such that they can be deactivated . a further group of cylinders 16 feeds their exhaust gas via exhaust gas lines into an exhaust gas collecting line 44 , which feeds the exhaust gas to the turbine 31 of the second turbocharger 30 . the bypass exhaust gas line 46 feeds , at its mouth 25 downstream of the turbine 31 , into the exhaust gas collecting line 40 .