Abstract: An intake system for multi-cylinder internal combustion engines, in particular of a V-type design, whose suction pipes extend in longitudinal direction and are connected to the intake channel leading towards the intake valve by means of passages of different lengths, a control element being provided for selectively activating one of the two flow paths. The design is kept simple by providing only one control element for controlling the inlets of two groups of intake pipes, the connection between one of the intake pipes, or rather, one of the two pairs of intake pipes, and the intake channel being established via manifold passages of one length, and the connection of the other intake pipe, or pair of intake pipes, via manifold passages of a different length.