Bentley's Edition 12 is a final goodbye to the W12

The four new special-edition Bentleys represent the very last chance to get the mighty W12 engine – in full-size form, or as a model, what Crewe calls a “commemorative artefact” (the model, not the car).

The W12 has been used in VW Group cars – from the VW Touareg and Phaeton to the Audi A8 – but since 2003 it has been Bentley’s go-to performance engine, powering the hottest versions of all its models and in large enough numbers to make it the most successful 12-cylinder engine of recent times. When the last W12 finally rolls off the line in April 2024 more than 100,000 will have been built. 

Its demise is no surprise. The writing was on the wall last year with the Flying Spur Speed swansong. Now we have another chance to bid adieu to W with that marketing concoction no car maker can resist: the limited-edition special.

There are four of them, all badged Speed Edition 12 and available in a fixed run of 120 examples of each for the world. Take your pick (or have one of each?) from Bentayga, Flying Spur and the Continental GT in either coupe or convertible forms. 

Special craftsmanship, colour and trim make the Edition 12s stand out for mechanically they are as their respective Speed models. In each of the four, the twin-turbocharged 6.0-litre lump dispenses 659PS (491kW) with 900Nm (664 lb-ft) of torque from just 1500rpm. 

Few companies are as well geared up for customisation as Bentley and here they have splashed out (especially in the logo department), adding more backstory to what in any of the four forms is already a highly polished luxury car, not to say a jolly fast one. 

It seems wherever you look there’s a “12” logo: on the exterior badging, treadplates, engine, embossed into the leather of the seats and even engraved into the organ-stop air vent knobs. And if you were to forget the firing order of the 12 cylinders there’s a handy aide memoire engraved into the black veneer facia. Neat.

Other details unique to Edition 12 models are silver-coloured brake callipers and silver piping for the seats. The chairs are a bit special already, with their quilted upper sections in three colours which fade into one another. 

Do you like the paint finish of the cars shown? It’s new and called Opalite, a light grey-green with a copper effect that Bentley paint buffs say glows in bright sunshine.  The exterior of the four models comes in Blackline spec with black-painted 22-inch wheels. 

They all look good we reckon, but maybe not as good as that magnificent sight of 12 cylinders under the bonnet. Buy one of these glorious dinosaurs (price? If you have to ask…) and with that model engine block freebie, you will have a constant reminder of what made Bentleys of the past 20 years so very special. Bet in years to come no one will ever make a keepsake of an electric motor!