Bentley wraps up production of hand-built W12 engine

Two decades of W12 power has come to an end

Bentley Motors is closing a pivotal chapter in its rich history as a British luxury brand.

They have wrapped up the production of the hand-built, high-performance 12-cylinder engine at its headquarters in Crewe, UK. For two decades, the W12 engine has been an emblem of Bentley’s commitment to power, performance, and luxury. With over 100,000 units produced, its retirement aligns with Bentley’s visionary Beyond100 strategy, focusing on sustainable luxury mobility.

Introduced in the original Continental GT in 2003, the last W12 engines powered the Bentayga, Continental GT, and Flying Spur models, including the Mulliner Batur luxury coupe.

As Bentley embraces an electric future, in place of the W12 is an all-new Ultra High Performance Hybrid powertrain, featuring a potent V8 combustion engine integrated with advanced battery technology producing 782 PS and 1000 Nm of torque.

“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.