By April of 2024, Bentley’s factory in Crewe, England had produced over 105,000 W12 engines since beginning production in 2003. The Crewe factory itself has come to define Bentley’s history over the years, having produced the majority of Bentley models since the Bentley Mark VI in 1946. It was also the location where all of Bentley’s W12 were hand-built by a team of craftsmen over a total period of 6.5 hours. Over 20 years of dedication to the W12 platform ended in 2024, when Bentley decided to pull the plug on the W12 engine for good.
In its place, Bentley intends to focus on more modern, more potent, and more efficient motors that will carry the brand further into the 21st Century. In 2019, Bentley made a statement that it was committed to switching to an entirely electric lineup by 2030, a claim that it looks like the brand will adhere to. For the time being, however, it only has one foot out the door, with a range of hybrid V6 and V8 engines still on offer.
Despite being a formidable power plant for Bentley for two decades, the automotive climate has fossilized the unique engine and constrained it to the increasingly disappearing internal combustion era. It seems like that’s a common theme no matter where you look, with only 10 brands still manufacturing V12 engines in 2024.
