Driving the twelve-cylinder engine is not a magnetic field, but a clever structure, smooth operation, and power and sound. Whether it's a small-displacement, high-speed "magic head," a torque-boosting twin-turbo gasoline or diesel engine, or even a historic aircraft engine. Let's take a moment to appreciate this diversity.
It is said that various intelligent people think that the decimal system is superior and ridicule the decimal system as being able to calculate it with a finger. And what about the people we drive? We are quite pragmatic and basically have a passion for all possible piston engines. Especially in the face of such a luxurious V12... Powered by gasoline, diesel or natural gas, these super-internal combustion engines range from less than 90 horsepower to well over 1500 horsepower, and they either toil, buzz, or scream on the road and track. Now, it seems that they are finally going to disappear into the setting sun.
1916: The first mass-produced V12
The first, at least first V12 engine to be produced, was the 1916 Packard Twin Six. The 88-horsepower 6.8-liter engine already uses a 60° angle. The theoretically perfect mass and torque balance guarantee vibration-free operation of the V12. In 1931, in Germany, the 6.0-liter Horch V12 showed what was possible. 12 lightweight alloy pistons (bore × stroke: 80×100 mm) whistled over the grey cast iron cylinder block, with two valves in the upper part of each cylinder placed horizontally, controlled by a three-chain driven camshaft via rocker arms and rollers. The hydraulic system with special control pistons is responsible for valve control of the 120 hp engine. The 12 balance blocks are mounted on a crankshaft with 7 bearings and an additional shock absorber at the front end. Silent blocks mounted on the front and rear of the engine eliminate residual vibrations. The Maybach Zeppelin topped the pack with an 8.0-litre displacement (92×100 mm) and a 200-horsepower release at 3200 rpm.
Sport: Colombo V12
The complete opposite of these cozy monsters is Ferrari's ColomboV12. Designed by the talented engineer Gioacchino Colombo, it appeared in 1947 and remained in the 412 until 1989, with an increase in displacement and a modified base. Initially, the 1.5-litre volume and almost 1:1 bore/stroke ratio were sufficient for 60° V12.
One camshaft per group, two valves per cylinder, and a total of three carburetors, were enough to produce 118 horsepower at 6800 rpm and 6 wins in 14 races in the first year. In 1948, Ferrari made its Debut in Formula One with the 230 hp 125 F1. This was not yet a guarantee of competitive victory, so in 1949 the engine added two more camshafts per cylinder (with two valves) and a two-stage supercharger. The result: 280 horsepower. At the end of his career, the V12 engine of 4942 cubic centimeters in the GT 412 now has a power of 340 horsepower.
Is this the whole picture of the Ferrari V12? Cavallino was still complaining. We remember the 180° engines of models like the 365 GT/4 Berlinetta Boxer. They are not horizontally opposed engines, because the connecting rods of the opposing cylinders are not placed on two crankshafts with an offset of 180°, but are connected to the same crankshaft journal. In horizontally opposed engines, the opposing pistons always move in the same mirror image, while in 180° engines they move in the same direction. This means that the horizontally opposed engine can balance its inertial forces on its own, while in a 180° engine, it is up to the multi-cylinder system to balance it.
Models using Ferrari's 180° V-engines include the 3.0-litre 312 in Formula One and the production mid-engine series with a displacement of 4.4 or 5.0 litres, most recently the Testarossa from 1984 to 1996. As early as 1969, the most powerful and ferocious 180° V12 engine was unveiled, and it was so successful that it was banned by events on two continents. At the end of its performance career, it even exploded the test bench on the Porsche 917.
The 4.5-litre air-cooled, dual-ignition engine is equipped with a start-generator and a cooling fan with a supply air volume of 2,400 liters per second, which produces 520 horsepower. Over the next few years, the power was further enhanced, with the addition of two new turbochargers and an expansion of the displacement to 5.4 liters. In its latest configuration in 1973, the engine produced more than 1500 horsepower, making it one of the most powerful track engines ever built.
1987: BMW restarts the V12
By contrast, the first German twelve-cylinder engine, which began before the war, was almost always shy: BMW's 5.0-liter engine, with 300 hp, was used for the 750i. Although the bore and stroke are the same, the Munich company did not simply pair the two existing inline six-cylinder engines, but relied on the same cylinder block to build a twin-valve engine with one camshaft on each side, with two separate intake systems, ignition and injection.
Mercedes-Benz fought back in 1991 with a 6.0-liter M120 four-valve engine with 300 kilowatts, or 408 horsepower. The selective explosion control of the cylinder enables the compression ratio to reach the level of 10: 1. The Mercedes V12 M279, still in use today, can produce up to 630 hp/1000 Nm of power, but BMW is limited by environmental regulations, and the latest 6.0-liter V12 engine can only deliver 577 horsepower instead of the previous 602 horsepower. The 2006 twin-fuel super experiment car/hydrogen test car BMW Hydrogen7 is significantly weaker, with only 260 horsepower. Instead of using electricity generated by fuel cells to drive electric motors, the Hydrogen7 uses an intake manifold to inject hydrogen to achieve a combustion process like a direct-injection gasoline engine.
In 2006, Audi shocked the Le Mans race with a direct-injection diesel engine. When development of the 5.5-liter TDI began, the test bench was pre-equipped with a more stable gearbox to withstand the twin-turbo 1200 Nm. Diesel engines with aluminium blocks, 90° angles and common rail fuel injection have an inlet pressure of close to 3 bar and can produce 650 horsepower in the speed range of 3000 to 5000 rpm. The V12 TDI could have done better, but the nearly 40mm diameter intake limiter prescribed by the race actually choked its throat. However, this did not prevent the R10 TDI from winning three consecutive Le Mans victories (2006-2008).
Volkswagen Group's W12 engine was successful not only in Le Mans but also in series production. At the turn of the millennium, they combined two VR6 engines with a 15° inclination angle and a common cylinder head into a 6.0-liter twelve-cylinder engine with a 72° inclination angle, which is special in itself. Therefore, the cylinder of the W12 is at a different angle, and it should actually be called a dual VR. No matter how combined, this engine is very short. In addition to being used in production models such as Phaeton and Touareg, it also made its solo debut in the twin-turbo GTI W12-650 in 2007, one of the coolest Golfs ever made. The meaning of the 650 is obvious, and with the torque of 750 Nm, the top speed is enough to reach 325 km / h.
The sound of this unique engine ranges from a deep rumble to a midrange soprano to a hoarse roar at full throttle. While the 6.0-litre naturally aspirated engine went into series production on the Audi A8 (631 hp) in 2001 and on Phaeton and Touareg in 2004, the sound was deep and delicate, with 450 hp and 600 Nm. Since 2015, the second generation of the direct-injection twin-turbo W12 engine with intake manifold has been used exclusively by Bentley.
For more than 100 years, the V12 engine has been used in luxury class or top-of-the-line sports cars such as the Aston DBS, Lamborghini Aventador or Ferrari 812.