Bentley ends production of its iconic W12 engine

British carmaker Bentley recently teased its plans of ditching the W12 engine and embedding its 771hp Ultra Performance Hybrid V8 powertrain in the new Flying Spur. And now, as the final W12-powered Bentayga, Continental GT and Flying Spur cars roll off the production line at the company’s Dream Factory, Bentley held a celebratory event to commemorate its iconic W12 engine whose two-decade journey now comes to an end. Bentley hosted a special lunch for the W12’s assembly line and R&D teams at Bentley’s Heritage Garage in Crewe where attendees were presented with a W12 engine piston commemorative gift to cherish the legacy. Additionally, as a final swansong, Bentley announced a limited run of 120 ‘Speed Edition 12’ models for Bentayga, Continental GT, Continental GT Convertible and Flying Spur. All Speed Edition 12 cars will feature Edition 12 badging, treadplates, seat embroidery, fascia inlays, and numbered engine plaques.

Over 100,000 W12 engines were produced by Bentley with the 2003 Continental GT being the first model to get equipped with it. The decision to axe the W12 boils down to Bentley’s Beyond100 strategy, which is aimed towards ensuring the company becomes a global leader in sustainable luxury mobility. Andreas Lehe, Member of the Board for Manufacturing at Bentley Motors, said: 
“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.”