The Ford Essex V6 engine is a 60° V6 engine built between 1966 and 1988 by the Ford Motor Company in the United Kingdom and until 2000 in South Africa although mostly in the Ford engine plant of Dagenham, Essex, which gave the engine its name. It is closely related to the Ford Essex V4 engine produced in displacements of 1.7 L and 2.0 L. Both engines share many parts since the Essex V6 was directly derived from the Essex V4; the 2.0 L Essex V4 and the 3.0 L Essex V6 in fact have exactly the same bore and stroke and share various components. In the same era, the Ford Cologne V6 engine was produced.

A V6 engine is a six-cylinder piston engine where the cylinders share a common crankshaft and are arranged in a V configuration.