Bentley To End The production of legendary 6.0-liter W12 engine.
Gasheads, turn away immediately!
The renowned 6.0 liter W12 engine, which powers Bentley’s most distinguished automobiles, will no longer be produced, according to the luxury British automaker.
The 12-cylinder engine will no longer be produced by the company, and its production line will be replaced with one that can assemble V6 and V8 engines.
The choice is a result of Bentley’s commitment to establishing an all-electric car lineup by 2030 as part of its attempts to move quickly toward a sustainable future.
The W12 engine developed by Bentley dates back to the company’s ownership by VW AG in the late 1990s.
The engineers at Bentley were entrusted with creating a new engine at the time that would be strong enough to lift the company’s flagship vehicle, the Continental GT, to new heights.
The outcome was the W12 engine, a ground-breaking design that blended the V12 engine’s power with the V6 engine’s small, portable form.
The engine’s distinctive form, which consists of two banks of six cylinders arranged in a “W” shape, enables it to produce remarkable power and torque while yet being small enough to fit in the engine bay of Bentley cars.
Since its launch in 2003, more than 100,000 models of the engine have been produced at Bentley’s Crewe plant in Cheshire, and it’s undergone several updates to improve its efficient over the years.
The final version of the engine, bound for the ultra-luxurious Batur in 2015, produces an impressive 740 horsepower and 737 pound-feet of torque.
Outside of the Batur, the 649 hp version of the engine is still available in a limited number of Continental GTs, Bentaygas, and Flying Spurs.
Bentley is now the first manufacturer of ultra-luxury vehicles to entirely abandon its 12-cylinder engines.
The nearest rival of Bentley, Rolls Royce, continues to utilize a V12 from BMW.
But, now that Rolls Royce has unveiled the Spectre, its first electric vehicle, it is unclear how long the company will continue to produce its 6.75-liter twin-turbo V12, also known as the N74.
The decision by Bentley to stop producing the W12 is a significant move in the direction of the company’s commitment to environmentally friendly premium transportation. The decision also reflects a wider movement in the automotive industry toward electric vehicles, with well-known producers switching to EVs, like Jaguar and BMW.
Thank you, W12. We will miss you. To conserve electricity, kindly switch off the garage lights.