Bentley to end 12-cylinder engine production

Production of Bentley’s iconic W12 engine to finish in April 2024 after more than 100,000 units produced in Crewe

Bentley to end 12-cylinder engine production

Bentley is to cease production of its 12-cylinder petrol engine in April 2024, by which time more than 100,000 examples of the iconic W12 will have been handcrafted in the company’s Dream Factory in Crewe, England.

The decision comes as part of Bentley’s acceleration towards a sustainable future which will see the company’s entire model line fully electrified by the start of the next decade.

When production of the W12 ceases next year, Bentley’s entire model line will be available with the option of a hybrid powertrain.

Meanwhile, an engine first made available in the sector-defining Continental GT, will be consigned to history.

Development work has concluded recently on the most powerful version of the W12 ever created.

The ultimate iteration of this mighty engine – destined for just 18 examples of the Bentley Batur to be handcrafted by Mulliner – is now confirmed as developing 750 PS and 1,000 Nm of torque.

The increased torque figure forms the typical Bentley ‘torque plateau’, running from 1,750 rpm to 5,000 rpm – with peak power at 5,500 rpm.

Bentley’s chairman and chief executive, Adrian Hallmark, said: “When we first launched the W12 back in 2003, we knew we had a mighty engine that would propel both our cars and the brand forwards at speed.

“20 years and more than 100,000 W12s later, the time has come to retire this now-iconic powertrain as we take strides towards electrification – but not without giving it the best send-off possible, with the most powerful version of the engine ever created.

“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, and when production finishes in April next year we aim to retrain and redeploy all of the skilled craftspeople who still build each engine by hand.”

Bentley’s aim is to retrain and redeploy all 30 of the skilled craftspeople that hand-assemble and test every single W12 engine at Bentley’s carbon-neutral factory in Crewe.

Meanwhile, the W12 engine production facility will make way for an expanded line for the completion of other Bentley engines used for the plug-in hybrid models.

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