British automaker, Bentley Motors sets to end its ultra-performance 12-cylinder engine production next April, in light of its transition to electric vehicles, according to its statement on Wednesday.
The milestone is planned to be celebrated by producing the most powerful version of the prominent engine it ever created, with 740 horsepower and 737 pound-feet of torque, the statement added.
The upgraded version of the engine is set to be used in 18 handcrafted to-seat performance cars, Bentley Baturs only, which price starts at $2 million, and the vehicles are already sold, added the automaker.
“The time has come to retire this now-iconic powertrain as we take strides toward electrification,” Bentley chairman and CEO Adrian Hallmark mentioned in the statement.
The end of the W12 engine comes within the framework of the famed luxury carmaker shift to an all-electric vehicles production line.
The Volkswagen-owned company had planned spending $3 billion on its transition into a fully electric luxury brand over the next decade.
Bentley’s all-electric plans are in line with other automakers, but are greatly different from its famed rival, Ferrari, according to CNBC.
The Italian sports car manufacturer, Ferrari which currently produces V6, V8 and V12 engines, has said it will continue to do so as long as there is sufficient demand for them.
There is a limited number of W12 engines with 649 horsepower are available for versions of the Continental GT, Bentayga and Flying Spur, said Bentley.
Production of the W12 engine will be replaced with expanded assembly of V8 and V6 hybrid engines, according to the company. Bentley has produced over 100,000 of the W12 engines since its production began in 2003.
[better-wp-embedder width=”100%” height=”400px” download=”all” download-text=”” attachment_id=”129653″ /]
