End of an Era: Final Bentley W12 Models Roll Off Production Line

Celebrating two decades of the iconic W12, Bentley has released the final W12-powered models to don the Bentley badge…

Bentley W12

Image: Bentley

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With the introduction of its Ultra Performance Hybrid powertrain, which debuted with the new Continental GT Speed and GTC, Bentley is retiring its W12 to the annals of its illustrious history. Now, celebrating two decades of this iconic engine, the British luxury marque is giving it a proper send-off, with the Crew-based carmaker producing the final W12-powered (previous-generation) Continental GT, Flying Spur, which, with the upcoming model, will be endowed with the Ultra Performance Hybrid setup, and Bentayga.

Related: New Bentley Continental GT Speed Unwrapped with 575 kW

“The W12 has played such an important role in the history of Bentley that it was only right for us to celebrate the engine’s retirement with those linked to this powerplant. The engine’s introduction helped change the face of the company almost overnight and so will go down in history as a true game-changer, and we should feel very proud to have designed, developed and manufactured such an icon in Britain for such a long period of time,” said Andreas Lehe, Member of the Board for Manufacturing at Bentley Motors.

Bentley W12

Image: Bentley

Added Dr Matthias Rabe, Member of the Board for R&D at Bentley Motors, “The W12 has propelled our cars and business forward at an exceptional speed and will go down as one of the most important innovations in our illustrious history. Today marks the end of a development journey that our R&D and manufacturing colleagues over the years should be extremely proud of. Not least in the conceptualisation, but also the continued progress with regards to power and performance optimisation, while at the same time improving both emissions and refinement.”

Related: New Flying Spur Teased as ‘Ultimate’ Bentley Saloon

Hand-built in Crewe, the W12, which was introduced in 2003 with the then-new Continental GT, in essence, comprised two narrow-angle V6 engines sharing a common crankshaft. As a result, the W12 was 24% shorter than a conventional V12. It featured new intake, exhaust, turbocharging and intercooling systems, each developed in-house by Bentley. With the release of the Bentayga in 2015, the second iteration of the firm’s 6.0-litre W12 sported twin-scroll turbocharging.

Looking for your next new or used vehicle? Find it here with CARmag! 

The post End of an Era: Final Bentley W12 Models Roll Off Production Line appeared first on CAR Magazine.


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