The Batur Is Bentley's Farewell to the W12 Engine, With a 740-HP Special Edition

At the end of its illustrious life, the staple engine of the British brand will surpass a production figure of 105,000 units, spanning 22 years since 2002. In 14 months (from the time of this story), the emblematic W12 will leave the stage in favor of the smaller V8s and V6s.

According to Bentley’s strategy of going full electric by 2030, the mighty twelve-piston powerplant has reached the end of a journey that began with the Continental GT. Once the W12 is out of production, all Bentley automobiles will come with a choice of hybrid powertrains.

But before it makes its way into the history books and memory albums of gearheads with mechanical inclinations, the spearhead of Bentley’s power-and-torque deliverers is putting on a farewell spectacle. Each of the eighteen Bentley Batur models will feature a high-performance 750 ps/1,000 Nm (740 hp/738 lb-ft) variant of the W12 engine.

Since the Batur is already sold out, its mighty twelve-cylinder engine won’t be available to Bentley customers. Those who wish to experience the thrills and adrenaline of the iconic powerplant will have to settle for the tamed-down version (659 PS/900 Nm; 650 hp/664 lb-ft) offered in the Speed models of the Bentayga, Continental GT, Flying Spur, Continental GT Mulliner, and Flying Spur Mulliner.

Following its introduction in the 2003 Bentley Continental GT, the 6.0-liter, twin-turbocharged W12 gradually increased performance. The first version produced 560 ps (552 hp) at 6,100 rpm and 650 Nm (479 lb-ft) between 1,600–6,100 rpm.

A masterpiece of motor engineering, the W12 had variants that also powered Audi and Volkswagen top-end limousines. As expected from the prestigious brand, the Bentley engine is unique in the family. Each powerplant requires over six hours of manual assembly, followed by a sixty-minute test phase.

Once a week, a randomly-chose plant undergoes an extended and excruciating test cycle, after which the whole unit is dismantled for inspection and minute analysis of every component. The short documentary video at the end of this article depicts every stage of the build - you can lick Play and enjoy.

The engineers tweaked the W12’s turbochargers for the era-ending Batur variant - with revised compressors and larger air inlets for the turbines. Small wonder since the massive plant burns through more than one ton of air an hour (when running at max power). That’s 28,680 cubic feet (or 812 cubic meters) of air at sea-level pressure and 20C (68F) temperature.

The final generation of this formidable twelve-cylinder machine debuted with the 2015 Bentayga, marking a massive leap in mechanical engineering for the company. A stronger crankcase, friction-reducing cylinder coating, a trio of cooling systems (for the cylinder heads, the engine block, and the lubrication system), and hybrid fuel injection (direct and port) gave the then-revised powerplant even higher performance ratings.