Bentley’s W12 engine takes final bow at Goodwood

Bentley’s mighty 12-cylinder engine is nearing the end of its life as the British luxury marque prepares to go fully electric by 2030.

To commemorate the engine’s role in the carmaker’s fortunes, several Bentleys powered by it will take on the famous Goodwood Festival of Speed hill climb in the UK this weekend. The 6.0l twin-turbo W12 is the engine that has powered Bentley to record success for the last 20 years, and is entering the final phase of production with the last engine to be built in April 2024.

Bentleys taking on the hill include the new Batur by Mulliner, powered by the mightiest incarnation of the W12 engine ever created, with 552kW and 1,000Nm of torque.

The Batur is the latest coach-built project by Mulliner, Bentley’s bespoke division, with just 18 examples set to be produced and all already sold. The car that will run on the hill is Car Zero-Zero, an engineering durability prototype finished in Marina Teal and one of only two Baturs in existence.

The new Continental GT Le Mans Collection is the pinnacle of W12 performance in Bentley’s mainstream model family, with 478kW. An example of this limited-edition car will take to the hill, ahead of a production run of just 48 units. The car will be joined by a bespoke Continental GTC Speed, Bentley’s fastest convertible.

To mark the life of the W12, Bentley has created a special series of cars across the Speed models in the range. The Edition 12 family of cars includes a suite of W12-inspired details, with 120 examples each of Continental GT, Continental GTC, Flying Spur and Bentayga Speed being produced. A Flying Spur Speed Edition 12 will showcase these features, including new Opalite paintwork, at Goodwood.

The final W12-powered car to make daily appearances on the hill climb will be the Continental GT Pikes Peak — the car that set a new outright Production Class record at Pikes Peak in 2019. Conquering the 20km, 156-turn course that climbs almost 1,500m start to finish, the Pikes Peak special set a new record of 10:18.488 at the hands of Rhys Millen. This will be the car’s first appearance at the Festival of Speed.

Joining the five W12 Bentleys on the hill will be Bentley’s original supercar — a 4½ Litre Supercharged, more commonly known as a Bentley Blower. The example that will run is Car Zero from the Blower Continuation Series, the world’s first pre-war continuation project that saw Mulliner create 12 new Blowers from scratch.

As the Blower Continuation Series production comes to an end, Mulliner is turning its focus to its second continuation project — the Speed Six Continuation Series. This new run of 12 cars — all sold — will be handcrafted in Mulliner’s workshop in Crewe, each a faithful continuation of the Speed Six specification that raced at Le Mans in 1930.