Have you ever heard of the W12 engine? It powers sports cars and high-end vehicles, including several models by the famous car maker Volkswagen. Some experts put it on a pedestal as the most powerful car engine in the world. Yet there aren’t many vehicles that use the W12 engine despite its advantages.
W12 is a three-character designation. The W indicates the engine’s appearance, including the arrangement of its cylinders. Meanwhile, 12 represents the number of cylinders on the engine.
Compared to the W12 engine, the V12 engine has a similar number of cylinders in a V-shaped arrangement. Furthermore, the V12 is much more prevalent than the W12.
The Volkswagen 6.0 WR12 48v engine is a W12 engine designed and manufactured by Volkswagen. First introduced in 2001, it’s the only W12 engine produced in numbers. The VW W12 engine usually powers flagship high-performance models made by the Volkswagen Group and Spyker.
Volkswagen created the WR12 by joining two narrow-angle VR6 engines at an inclined angle of 72°. The WR12 has a common crankshaft and the same number of camshafts found in a V12 engine.
The earlier VW VR6 engine is a staggered-bank straight-six engine. Its set of cylinders has an angle of 15°. The narrow angles enable two overhead camshafts to drive each pair of cylinder banks.
From an engineering perspective, the WR12 isn’t a three-block W-engine. It uses two smaller, staggered-bank engines, technically qualifying it as a staggered-bank V12. However, the VW W12 engine does count as a four-bank W-engine.
The W12 engine has 12 cylinders arranged around a crankshaft. The cylinders drive the same crankshaft.
W12 engines usually come in three-block and four-block forms. The three-block design features a trio of cylinder banks that resemble the letter W. Each bank has three cylinders.
An alternative arrangement for the W12 engine distributes the 12 engine cylinders in four banks of three cylinders each. It resembles the W-shape more clearly.
Why do fans of the W12 engine gush about its design? The 12-cylinder, W-shaped design enjoys several advantages over other engines, such as the more common V6 and V8.
Let’s look at the advantages offered by W12 engines:
Perhaps the most significant advantage of the W12 engine is its relatively small size. Even though the W-engine has 12 cylinders, it can fit in engine bays with lower heights, such as the cramped spaces in all-wheel drive (AWD) and 4-wheel drive (4WD) vehicles.
Aside from overall compactness, the W12 engine is shorter than its V12 counterpart. It matches the length of a smaller V6 engine–after all, the W12 practically straps together a pair of V6 units to run on a shared crankshaft.
The W12 engine isn’t only more compact than other 12-cylinder engines. It also weighs less. Balancing this lighter engine requires less effort than with a heavier unit.
Thanks to the combination of small size and reduced weight, the W12 engine enables car manufacturers to design shorter vehicles with better aerodynamics. These models will have better road performance.
The W12 engine packs plenty of power for its size. Despite its compact shape, it produces more horsepower than larger engines because it fits more cylinders into its block.
Generally, the number of cylinders determines the power produced by the engine, and more cylinders deliver higher performance. For example, the V6 engine has half a dozen cylinders, two more than the smaller V4. The extra cylinders produce additional horsepower.
In comparison, the W12 engine has a dozen cylinders, allowing it to match the power generation of a V12 unit. Alternatively, think of the W12 as two V6 engines running simultaneously.
Despite its advantages, the W12 engine doesn’t see widespread use in many models. It has drawbacks that reduce its effectiveness and desirability for many drivers, limiting its use to fewer vehicles.
Major W12 engine disadvantages include the following:
The W12 engine is a complex system with more moving parts than smaller units or its V12 counterpart. Producing this powerful engine consumes more resources and needs extra time and effort, driving the cost of individual units upward. The expense of manufacturing large numbers of W12 engines dissuades most manufacturers from making large numbers, leading to smaller production runs.
Not only is the W12 engine costly to manufacture, it’s also difficult and expensive to repair it and keep it in good shape. Between myriad parts and complicated design, the W12 engine is a pain for mechanics to work on.
While the W12 engine weighs less than a V12 engine, it’s still heavier than smaller engines like the V6 and V8. If you install the W12 in a vehicle with a lighter stock engine, the heavier engine will put more stress and might reduce performance.
Engine power doesn’t come free. The W12 engine burns lots of fuel to produce energy. It has a lower average miles per gallon (MPG) than a smaller, more fuel-efficient engine.
Aside from Volkswagen, Audi, Bentley, and Spyker use the W12 engine in some of their vehicles.
Here are some vehicle models that use a W12 engine:
Car manufacturers are phasing out the W12 engine, but it remains a capable unit. Whether you own a vehicle with a W12 engine, intend to get one, or plan to install one in your car, you can get great performance out of it.
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