Is a W12 Engine Better than a V8?

If a V8 is better than a V6, is a W12 better than a V8?

A V8 has two rows of four cylinders that power the engine, whereas the W12 has four rows of three cylinders. Adding 4 cylinders can add more power, such as with the Bentley Continental GT V8 compared to the W12 version, where the V8 has 542 horsepower compared to the W12 with 626 horsepower. That’s enough to shave the 0-60 from 4.1 to 3.7 seconds. 

The W12 is also shorter due to only being as long as a V6 engine despite the extra cylinders. You can picture it as two V6’s fused together side-by-side on the same crankshaft within the engine. This lets manufacturers add extra power by going wide while keeping the car short.

However, its engine also sounds weaker than what many people associate with a V8, but it depends on the car. Our W12 Bentley Bentayga creates less engine noise than one of our Corvettes, but has more noise than our V8 Flying Spur.

The last major advantage over a V8 is the increased size of the power bands. A W12 is able to provide a lot of power at almost any engine speed, keeping the acceleration smooth as the car speeds up.

The only mass produced W12 engine is the Volkswagen 6.0 WR12 48v. The WR12 is best known for its appearances in Bentley vehicles, but has also shown up in other Volkswagen Group cars, namely Volkswagen and Audi.

Interested in what W12 options we have? Take a look at our current inventory. They’re rare enough that we don’t always have one in stock, but it’s always exciting when a new one rolls in.