BENTLEY: 12 DISCIPLES

Is Bentley’s UK-built W12 engine now an anachronism? Not at all — in fact, it has a rosy future. Matt Burt finds out more

Bentley’s W12 is more than just an engine: it’s a byword for the British company’s heritage, its current positioning as a luxury brand and also its future ambitions. In the modern age of downsizing and efficiency-chasing, that the engine has a long-term future is both an eyebrow-raiser and a huge shot in the arm for the 100-strong team responsible for building the W12 at the former fighter plane engine facility in Pyms Lane, Crewe. Two years ago, when Bentley introduced the twin-turbocharged V8 – complete with its fuel-saving technology and significantly lower CO2 emissions – into the Continental range, it could have been assumed that it would signal the beginning of the end for the thirstier W12. Nothing could be further from the truth, says Paul Jones, the company’s director of product…

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Autocar (Digital) - 1 Issue, 23/07/2014

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