The British company Bentley Motors, part of the German concern Volkswagen, today announced that it has completed production of the legendary 6.0- liter petrol biturbo engine W12, its total circulation exceeded 100 thousand copies.
Bentley announced the end of production of the W12 engine in February 2023: then it was assumed that the last example would be assembled in April 2024, and its last factory carrier would be the Bentley Batur coupe. Then the company’s plans changed: after the Batur coupe, the Batur Convertible debuted — these models are equipped with the most powerful version of the W12, producing 750 hp. and 1000 Nm. The initial output of the W12 engine in the Bentley Continental GT coupe in 2003 was 560 hp. and 650 Nm.
Bentley Continental GT Convertible, Bentayga and Flying Spur in Speed Edition 12
Rumors that Bentley will have another exclusive model with the W12 in addition to the Batur and Batur Convertible have not yet been confirmed: today’s press release only says that the company will release 120 cars in a special version of Speed Edition 12, which can be ordered for Bentayga models , Flying Spur, Continental GT and Continental GT Convertible of the outgoing generation — of course, all of them will be equipped with the W12.
The total circulation of the W12 engine exceeded 100,000 copies (more than 105,000 were reported in February 2023), the exact figure is not known — it is only clear that in addition to the engines installed directly in the cars, there is still some reserve for cases of warranty replacement and some special projects.
To mark the end of production of the W12, a farewell dinner was held at the Crewe factory, attended by three dozen craftsmen involved in its assembly, each of whom was presented with a commemorative figurine in the form of a piston from the W12 engine. Qualified personnel, of course, will remain in the company, but will now be involved in the assembly of hybrid power plants based on V6 and V8 engines.
The first carrier of the new Ultra Performance Hybrid power plant based on a V8 engine was the fourth generation Bentley Continental GT presented last month — this power plant, in fact, will replace the W12 on the top versions of Bentley models, on the new Continental GT it produces 782 hp. and 1000 Nm.
New Bentley Continental GT Speed Convertible with Ultra Performance Hybrid hybrid powertrain
By 2026, there will be no purely “hydrocarbon” models left in the Bentley lineup — there will only be plug-in hybrids, around the same time the first production Bentley electric car will enter the market, and by 2030 the entire lineup of the British brand will be fully electrified, that is, models ICEs will become a thing of the past.