End of an era as final Bentley W12 engine hand-built in Crewe

End of an era as final Bentley W12 engine hand-built in Crewe

• Two decades of iconic W12 engine celebrated at Crewe
• Over 100,000 W12 engines hand-built at Dream Factory
• Most successful 12-cylinder engine of the modern era
• Landmark decision to end production in line with Bentley’s move to be leaders in sustainable luxury mobility
• Brand’s industry-leading Beyond100 strategy showcases future led by new Ultra High Performance Hybrid powertrain
• Bentley colleagues celebrate final W12 at commemorative event

Bentley Motors is celebrating production of the last hand-built, high performance 12-cylinder engine at the company’s UK headquarters in Crewe. It concludes a pivotal chapter in Bentley’s history, as the last W12-powered Bentayga, Continental GT and Flying Spur cars roll off the production line at the company’s Dream Factory.

More than 100,000 W12s have been produced since the engine was introduced in the original Continental GT in 2003. The milestone decision to cease production is in line with Bentley’s ground-breaking Beyond100 strategy, which will see the company become a global leader in sustainable luxury mobility.

To mark this special occasion, a commemorative lunch for the W12 assembly and R&D teams was held at Bentley’s Heritage Garage in Crewe. Guests then gathered to form part of a W12 portrait photograph in the Pyms Lane Plaza. Assembly colleagues were also presented with the gift of a commemorative W12 engine piston to cherish the moment.

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.”

The 6.0-litre twin-turbo W12 – the most successful 12-cylinder engine of the modern era – will be replaced with an all-new, performance-focused powertrain to mark the start of a new era for the company. That Ultra High Performance Hybrid will combine a powerful V8 combustion engine with advanced battery technology. ‘Electrocharging’ uses a potent hybrid system and builds further on Bentley’s existing petrol-electric powertrains.

Producing the highest ever output offered in any Bentley, the engine will drive a new generation of the most dynamic, responsive and efficient supercars the company has ever built. Every model in the Bentley range will become available with the new electrified powertrain. The unit develops even more power than the retiring W12, combined with a lowly WLTP drive cycle CO2 figure of just 50 g/km.

Dr. Matthias Rabe, Member of the Board for R&D at Bentley Motors, added:

“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.”