Crewe’s Missile: Bentley produces last W12 engine as downsizing era gets in full swing
Bentley Motors has just produced its last 12-cylinder engine, marking the end of an era for the British manufacturer.
The last W12-powered Continental GT, Flying Spur and Bentayga models rolled off the production line in Crewe, England, recently, and the brand is replacing it with a new high-performance V8 hybrid with advanced battery technology.
The new plug-in hybrid eight-cylinder powertrain offers combined outputs of 575kW and 1,000Nm, and a claimed all-electric driving range of 80km.
Downsizing of engines and a move to plug-in hybrids has become an industry trend as manufacturers face ever-stricter emissions laws.
As a swansong for the W12 engine, Bentley has introduced a limited run of 120 ‘Speed Edition 12’ models, available in the Continental GT, Flying Spur and Bentayga.
These special models are powered by a 485kW version of the twin-turbo W12 and apart from special badging, embroidery and trimmings, buyers can look forward to receiving a commemorative scale model of the W12 engine block.
The W12 engine started life in 2003, with its single-crank layout essentially combining two narrow-angle V6 engines into a single unit that’s more compact than a V12.
This earliest version produced 405kW in the 2003 Continental GT, allowing it to achieve a top speed of over 320km/h.
The second-generation W12 was introduced in 2015, complete with cylinder deactivation and more responsive twin-scroll turbochargers.
Each W12 engine is hand-built at the company’s Crewe facility in a process that takes around seven hours to assemble its 2,600 components.
“The W12 has propelled our cars and business forward at an exceptional speed and will go down as one of the most important innovations in our illustrious history,” said Dr Matthias Rabe, R&D board member at Bentley.
“Today marks the end of a development journey that our R&D and manufacturing colleagues over the years should be extremely proud of.
“Not least in the conceptualisation, but also the continued progress with regards to power and performance optimisation, while at the same time improving both emissions and refinement.”