A reciprocating-piston internal combustion engine has a crank drive and a
transmission lever indirectly coupled with the piston and intersecting
the cylinder axis. The lever is articulated onto the crank drive's
connecting rod and onto an adjustable bearing guided in the cylinder
block. For greater variation of the translation of movements between
crank drive and piston, the pulling and pushing rod connected with the
piston has a guide at its end facing the transmission lever. The guide is
preferably a pivotally-mounted slide shoe that engages into a guide
extending along the transmission lever. The transmission lever is
pivotally connected with the crankshaft connecting rod and connected with
a setting drive for variably setting the articulation of the pulling and
pushing rod on the transmission lever. A guide lever pivotally connected
with the pulling and pushing rod and pivotally articulated onto the
cylinder block guides the pulling and pushing rod.