Porsche has filed a patent for a new W12 engine it’s developing that employs a unique configuration. The Volkswagen Group is no stranger to oddly configured W12 engines, of course. The iconic Bentley 6.0-liter W12 ended production earlier this year after serving smiles for decades. Whereas that W12 was created by marrying two narrow-angle VR6 engines from Volkswagen at the crankshaft, Porsche’s new design features three banks of cylinders.
Based on the patent drawings in the filing, Porsche’s engine looks more like the letter ‘W’ than the old VR6-based design, which had four cylinder banks. Carscoops reports the filing doesn’t contain many details, and what it does discuss is highly technical, but the gist is that Porsche believes this new design will reduce friction loss and allow for more flexible packaging because of its size.
What’s Porsche Doing Designing A W12?
What follows is speculation, as Porsche hasn’t discussed this engine’s existence publicly as far as we know, particularly what vehicle it may one day power. The first thing to consider, though, is how powerful it could be.
Consider the prior W12, which for much of its life was aided by a pair of turbochargers. When it first launched in the Bentley Continental GT back in 2003, it produced 552 horsepower and 479 pound-feet of torque. That power figure steadily climbed over the next 20 years and reached its zenith in the Bentley Batur by Mulliner, where it made 740 horsepower and 737 pound-feet of torque.
Porsche’s W12 engine design should be able to produce considerably more power than that. With each of its three cylinder banks having their own intake and exhaust ports, the engine could theoretically accept a trio of turbochargers or superchargers easily.
Curiously, Porsche mentions in the patent that all of this new technology could be used in engines with fewer cylinders. Also, the fact that Porsche filed the patent doesn’t necessarily mean that it will be the brand to use this engine. Bugatti is also a subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group, and while it already has a spectacular naturally aspirated V16 engine for the new Tourbillon, it could be cooking up something else that might use this engine.
TopSpeed’s Take
Can we get a round of applause for Volkswagen’s VR6 engine? While doing research for this article, we realized how technically impressive and influential this engine was in its lifetime. Its ultra-narrow-angle design allowed Volkswagen to fit six cylinders of power in places that were originally designed for four. The Golf, Jetta, and Corrado all benefited from the VR6 engine’s tidy packaging and prolific power.
Then the luxury automakers got a hold of the VR6. Bentley connected two of them at the crankshaft to create its legendary W12. Bugatti, meanwhile, added two cylinders to make what was essentially a VR8 engine, and then paired two of those together to create a W16 engine. With four turbochargers feeding it, Bugatti’s version produced over 1,000 horsepower when it first launched in the Veyron and was most powerful in the Bolide where it made up to 1,825 horsepower and 1,364 pound-feet of torque.
We could laud the VR6 all the live long day, but credit goes to the engineers at Volkswagen Group, as well. These crafty tinkerers created some of the most interesting engines of the past 30 years, engines that have powered everything from the lowest economy car to 250-mph hypercars. Considering the engines in those two cars share a common architecture, you have to give the VR6 its proper due.
Source: Carscoops