LONDON — Bentley will cease manufacturing of its 12-cylinder engine subsequent 12 months because the model shifts to promoting electrical automobiles.
“The time has come to retire this now-iconic powertrain as we take strides in direction of electrification,” Bentley CEO Adrian Hallmark stated in an announcement.
The W12 has powered Bentley automobiles because the ultraluxury model’s reinvention by homeowners Volkswagen Group in 2003.
The engine will get its title as a result of it has 12 cylinders organized in a W formation moderately than a V form.
The primary Bentley to make use of the engine was the 2003 Continental GT coupe and it nonetheless powers top-end variations of the GT, the Flying Spur sedan and Bentayga SUV.
The 6.0-liter, twin-turbo powerplant was initially constructed by VW in Salzgitter, Germany, however it was moved to Bentley’s manufacturing facility in Crewe, England, in 2014.
Bentley took over the design and growth of the engine, initially exporting it again to Germany to be used within the VW Phaeton and Audi A8 luxurious sedans. Audi has since dropped the W12 from its A8 vary, whereas the Phaeton went out of manufacturing. Crewe has constructed 100,000 models of the engine, Bentley stated.
Bentley initially employed 100 folks in its Crewe plant to construct the engine, however that quantity has since shrunk to 30. All affected workers shall be retrained to work elsewhere within the Crewe facility.
The realm used to construct the W12 shall be used to construct V-8 and V-6 hybrid engines. Not like with the W12, the smaller engines are solely given a last preparation prematurely of becoming into the automobiles, moderately than being totally assembled on website.
The ultimate model of the W12 engine may also be its strongest at 739 hp (750 PS).
The unit shall be fitted to the upcoming Batur coupe, which has been developed by Bentley’s Mulliner bespoke division and is proscribed to 18 examples.
The W12 was an costly unit, costing “round 10 instances” that of the common premium automobile engine, Hallmark advised Automotive Information Europe in an interview final 12 months. Every engine took round 6.5 hours to construct.
The CEO has stated the model’s first EV is now due in 2026.
Hallmark stated the model is in search of “the W12 of batteries” because it develops a mannequin that shall be a flagship for the model and kick off the model’s EV launch cycle forward of its plan to change all its vary to full-electric drivetrains by 2030.