Bentley’s limited-edition Batur coupe, featuring a 6.0-liter W12 bi-turbo petrol engine producing 750 hp, will receive the final iteration of this engine.
The era of 12-cylinder engines is quickly fading away. However, Volkswagen’s 6.0-liter W12 engine, created in the early 2000s for their most exclusive models, stands out due to its unique architecture – a combination of inline and V-shaped designs – that no other manufacturer has attempted to replicate.
Over the course of two decades, the German automaker has manufactured over 100,000 W12 engines. Currently, only Bentley vehicles are fitted with these engines, which are assembled in a 6.5-hour process at the Crewe factory in the UK. Subsequently, each engine undergoes a routine hourly bench testing cycle, while one engine per week undergoes an extended testing cycle and is later completely dismantled for examination.
Initially, the W12 engine in the Bentley Continental GT coupe produced 560 hp and 650 Nm of torque when introduced in 2003. Subsequent upgrades have resulted in the engine now delivering a maximum output of 659 hp and 900 Nm of torque in standard Bentley models. The most potent version of the W12 engine, however, will be featured in the limited-edition Batur coupe from the Mulliner coachbuilding division, with only 18 units being produced at a cost of $1.99 million.
In August of last year, the Bentley Batur was unveiled, which is based on the current Continental GT coupe but features an extended wheelbase and entirely new exterior body panels. During the initial debut, the output of the modified W12 engine powering the Batur was provisionally listed as over 740 hp and 1000 Nm of torque. However, after successfully completing all required development tests, Bentley has released the precise figures, which indicate that the engine generates 750 hp at 5500 rpm and 1000 Nm of torque between 1750-5000 rpm. This marks the most powerful production Bentley in history and also represents the final iteration of the W12 engine as the British automaker will no longer be utilizing it.
Bentley has issued a press release confirming that the production of the W12 engine will cease in April 2024. Subsequently, the 30 individuals working at the engine’s assembly site will undergo retraining and will transition to the production of hybrid powertrains based on V6 and V8 engines. While it is theoretically possible to place an order for a Bentley fitted with a W12 engine before the year-end, the workshop may potentially close sooner due to high demand.
Bentley has announced that by 2026, the automaker will no longer offer purely gasoline-powered vehicles, with the lineup consisting solely of plug-in hybrid models. In the same year, Bentley will introduce its first electric car to the market, and by 2030, the entire lineup will be fully electrified, resulting in the discontinuation of internal combustion engines.
It is worth noting that in 2022, Bentley achieved a milestone by selling more than 15,000 vehicles in a single year for the first time in its history, with a total of 15,174 units sold, representing a 4% increase over the previous year.