An internal combustion engine including a first set of cylinders includes: a first two-stroke compression cylinder housing a first compression piston connected to a first crank shaft; a first four-stroke combustion cylinder housing a first combustion piston connected to a second crank shaft, the first four-stroke combustion cylinder being configured to receive compressed gas from the first two-stroke compression cylinder; and a first two-stroke expansion cylinder housing a first expansion piston connected to the first crank shaft, the first two-stroke expansion cylinder being configured to receive exhaust gas from the first four-stroke combustion cylinder, wherein the first compression piston is positioned to reach a lower end position within the first compression cylinder and the first expansion piston is positioned to reach an upper end position within the first expansion cylinder when the first combustion piston reaches a lower end position within the first combustion cylinder; wherein the second crank shaft is configured to rotate with a speed of at least twice the speed of the first crank shaft.