Bentley announced in a February 2023 press statement that it is stopping production of the hand-built W12 engine on April 2024. Bentley said it has produced over 100,000 motors since it was first introduced in 2003 in the Continental GT coupe.

“The decision comes as part of Bentley’s acceleration towards a sustainable future through its Beyond100 strategy which will see the company’s entire model line fully electrified by the start of the next decade, reducing fleet average emissions to 0 g/km CO2,” the carmaker said.

“This journey has already begun, with the introduction of the Bentayga and Flying Spur Hybrid models for which demand is exceeding the company’s expectations,” Bentley added.

The electric revolution has heralded the introduction of ever-faster battery electric vehicles (EV) that provide stupendous performance with zero emissions.

Case in point, the Chinese-built Zeekr 009 luxury EV can do 0 to 100 km/h in 4.5 seconds, even though it is shaped like a wheeled refrigerator with a perennially happy face.

A consequence of this EV revolution is the demise of more and more big internal-combustion engines and this time, it’s Bentley’s twin-turbocharged W12 powerplant.

Hand-built with passion

The Bentley W12 engine is based on the W12 unit introduced by Volkswagen in 2001. Bentley has been owned by the German carmaker since 1998.

The luxury carmaker said its entire model lineup will have optional hybrid powertrains once the W12 ceases production next year. Bentley plans to expand the production lines for its plug-in hybrid models. 

In addition, workers from the W12 production line will be retrained and redeployed within Bentley.

The ultimate W12

However, Bentley does not plan to send its two-decade-old engine gently into the good night.

It will have one last ride in the Bentley Batur coupe, which will only have 18 examples and produce 750 PS and 1,000 Nm of torque.

“The 750 PS titan that Mulliner has created for the Batur marks the end of a development journey of which our engineering and manufacturing colleagues should be extremely proud,” said Bentley chairman and chief executive Adrian Hallmark.

The Batur achieves such breathtaking figures by fitting new turbochargers and intercoolers that provide more air and better cooling to the 6.0-liter, twin-cam, 48-valve W12 gasoline engine.

“The new intake and turbocharging system is matched with a heavily revised engine calibration to liberate the extra torque available, and the complete engine system is then paired with a new transmission calibration to deploy the additional power and torque and enhance the driving experience,” Bentley said.

Should car manufacturers really stop making internal combustion engines?

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