Goodbye Bentley W12, Hello Bentley Hybrid

Many are mourning as Bentley Motors builds the final hand-made W12 engine at its UK headquarters in Crewe. The event heralds the end of an era as the last W12-powered models of the Bentayga, Continental GT, and Flying Spur leave the production line. The W12 engine was first introduced in the Continental GT in 2003, has been a Bentley masthead ever since.

As if trying to reinvent the wheel, Bentley thought it would be a great idea to glue a couple of V6’s together, going on to build over 100,000 W12 engines. Bentley’s Beyond100 strategy aims to bring the big Brit (or German as the case may be) into a glossy new era of sustainable luxury mobility. As Bentley is makes baby steps to an electrified future, the ludicrously complex W12 has been out-classed by a hybrid.

Saying goodbye

To commemorate this significant occasion, Bentley held a special event at its Heritage Garage in Crewe, where members of the W12 assembly and R&D teams gathered for a typically British boozy brunch. The Pyms Lane Plaza photo shows an assembly of workers receiving a commemorative W12 engine piston as a memento of their time at Bentley.

Andreas Lehe, Bentley’s Board Member for Manufacturing, highlighted the W12 engine’s pivotal role in the company’s history. He noted that the engine’s introduction revolutionised Bentley almost overnight, establishing it as an iconic achievement in British automotive engineering. The W12 engine’s legacy is marked by its influence on Bentley’s identity and its significant contribution to the brand’s global reputation, not forgetting the W12 has appeared in other Volkswagen Group cars.

ABOVE: End of Bentley W12 production

The new Era Hybrid

The 6.0-liter twin-turbo W12 engine, is most successful 12-cylinder engine of the modern era, but has been dwarfed in power by the new Ultra High Performance Hybrid powertrain that ties a V8 combustion engine to advanced battery technology. As all car makers have to stamp their own mark on the term “hybrid”, the new hybrid system has been crowned ‘Electrocharging’, a somewhat irrelevant term.

The new powertrain has the highest output ever for a Bentley, running roughshod over the creaking old W12. CO2 emissions are 50 g/km, down from a planet-crushing 340g/k. The aim is speed, so the fuel and emissions savings are almost a by-the-way.

Dr. Matthias Rabe, Bentley’s Board Member for R&D, emphasized the W12 engine’s role in propelling the brand forward. He commended the R&D and manufacturing teams for their dedication to optimizing power, performance, and emissions over the years, solidifying the W12’s place in Bentley’s illustrious history.

Why a W12?

The W12 engine produced power of a twelve-cylinder engine in a more compact form, giving Continental GT’s designers scope to experiement. The Continental GT was a relative success, with 12-cylinder power, all-wheel drive, and nearly 200 mph top speed. A brutish thug in a dinner suit, the W12 engine has been hand-built in Crewe, each taking around seven hours to build from 2,600 separate parts.

In just over 20-years, the W12 engine gathered a bunch of gongs, including World Ice Speed Records and Production Car records at Pikes Peak. The engine’s legacy includes Bentley’s coachbuilt Mulliner models such as the Bacalar and Batur, the latter being the ultimate expression of W12-powered Bentley engineering.

As a final hoorah to W12’s legacy, Bentley raided the its cocktail shelves to shake together a limited edition batch of 120 ‘Speed Edition 12’ models. They are a blend of bold badging, gorgeous inlays, and gratuitous commemorative plaques.

This final tribute to the W12 engine marks the end of an era, but there are around 100,000 W12 engines still in service. Bentley’s 12-cylinder engine remains the most successful of its kind in the modern era, and while the company sallies forth into an electric future, the W12’s dinosaur-laden legacy will not be forgotten, for one reason or another.

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