New eras in the automotive world mean the end of others, and the 12-cylinder engine at Bentley is no exception. Assembly of the big W12 at Bentley’s facility in England will end a little more than a year from now, in April 2024. However, before that happens, it will be Bentley’s most powerful 12-pot ever. And it’s even more potent than previously stated.
The twin-turbocharged 6.0-liter W12 engine under the hood of the extremely rare Bentley Batur is now officially rated at 740 horsepower. This is an increase from 710 hp when the Batur was announced in August 2022, but torque remains unchanged at 737 pound-feet. The ultimate evolution of the W12 under Bentley’s care employs new turbochargers with a more efficient design that collect air via larger ducts. The intake/turbo combination runs at lower temperatures, and a new engine calibration boosts the mill’s power to 740 hp.
The Batur will be the only Bentley to use this version of the W12. Only 18 are planned for production, and all have already been sold. The 649-hp version of the W12 is still available in limited numbers for the Bentayga, Continental GT, and Flying Spur, as well as Mulliner versions of the GT and Spur, according to Bentley. However, once April 2024 arrives, that’s it.
“The 740 hp (750 ps) titan developed by Mulliner for the Batur represents the culmination of a development journey that our engineering and manufacturing colleagues should be extremely proud of,” said Bentley CEO Adrian Hallmark. “When production ends in April of next year, we intend to retrain and redeploy all of the skilled craftspeople who still handcraft each engine.”
30 specialists work for approximately 6.5 hours to build and test the W12. It began production with Bentley in 2003, following the acquisition of the company by Volkswagen. Over 100,000 engines have been built for various Bentley models in the 20 years since. The term “electrification” refers to the process of converting electricity into usable energy. In the future, the W12 production space will be repurposed for hybrid powertrains.
