A W12 engine is a twelve cylinder piston engine in a W configuration. Some prototype W12 engines have used three banks of 4 cylinders though none have ever gone into production. They were, however, briefly and unsuccessfully used in the 1990 F1 World Championship by the Life team. All production W12 engines to date (April, 2005) use four banks of three cylinders (two narrow-angle V6 engine blocks), coupled to a common crankshaft. A piston and cylinder from a steam engine A cylinder in an internal combustion engine is the space within which a piston travels. ... Components of a typical, four stroke cycle, DOHC piston engine. ... The W engine is an engine configuration in which the cylinder banks resemble the letter W in the same way a V engine resembles the letter V. There have been three entirely different implementations of this concept: one with three banks of cylinders, one with four and one with two... This article recaps the 1990 Formula One season. ... Life was a Formula One constructor from Italy. ... The Ford Essex V6 engine A V6 is an internal combustion piston engine with six cylinders in a V configuration. ... Crankshaft, pistons, and flywheel Continental engine marine crankshafts, 1942 For the comic strip about an old, curmudgeonly bus driver, see Crankshaft (comic strip). ...

At the 2001 Tokyo Motor Show, Volkwagen showcased the W12 Coupe, a mid-engined, rear wheel drive supercar powered by a 6 L W12 engine producing 600 hp. A week before, the W12 Coupe broke the world 24 hour endurance record. A total distance of 7085.7 kilometres (4402.8 miles) was covered at an average speed of 295.24 km/h (185.45 mph), breaking the old record by 12 km/h (7.5 mph). Production of the W12 Coupe was considered but is currently cancelled. 2001 Volkswagen Nardo Concept The Volkswagen Nardo (officially known as the Volkswagen W12 Coupe) was a concept car created by Volkswagen in 1997. ... In Automobile design, an MR or Mid-engine, Rear wheel drive layout drives the rear wheels with an engine placed just in front of them, behind the passenger compartment. ... Rear wheel drive was a common form of engine/transmission layout used in automobiles throughout the 20th century. ... The Porsche Carrera GT, the highest selling supercar at its level of performance. ...

Volkswagen Group currently produces W12s based on two of its narrow-angle VR6 engines. The narrow angle of each set of cylinders allows just two camshafts to drive each pair of banks, so just four are needed in total. Note that this design differs from the W18 engine that Volkswagen produced for its Bugatti concept cars of 1998 and 1999. Due to this distinction, the VW Group's W12 engine is sometimes described as a "WR12". Volkswagen AG (DE0007664005) (TYO: 7659 ) is a German automobile manufacturer. ... The VR6 engine is a configuration developed by the Volkswagen Group. ... A W18 engine is an eighteen cylinder piston engine in a W configuration. ... Bugatti is one of the most celebrated marques of automobile and one of the most exclusive French car producers of all time. ...

The VW W12 is used in some high-end luxury models:

• Audi A8
• Bentley Continental GT
• Bentley Continental Flying Spur
• Volkswagen Phaeton
• Volkswagen Touareg

The Audi A8 is a large luxury automobile built by Audi to replace the V8 model as their flagship offering. ... Bentleys winged B badge and hood ornament Bentley Motors Limited is a British based manufacturer of luxury automobiles and Grand Tourers. ... ... The Bentley Continental Flying Spur was the four-door derivative of the standard Bentley Continental automobile, made by Bentley Motors of England. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The Volkswagen Touareg is a luxury 4x4 (US: SUV) automobile manufactured by Volkswagen. ... Engine configuration is an engineering term for the layout of the major components of an internal combustion engine. ... Usually found in 4 and 6 cylinder configurations, the straight engine (often designed as inline engine) is an internal-combustion engine with all cylinders aligned in one row, with no or only minimal offset. ... A single cylinder engine, colloquially known as a one-lunger, is an engine configuration consisting of just one cylinder. ... A straight-twin engine is a two cylinder piston engine that has its cylinders arranged in a single row. ... A Straight-3 is an internal combustion engine with three cylinders arranged in a straight line side by side. ... The straight-4 or inline-4 is an internal combustion engine with four cylinders aligned in one row. ... The straight-5 or inline-5 is an internal combustion engine with five cylinders aligned in one row, sharing a single engine block and crankcase. ... The straight-6 (also inline 6, I-6, or I6) is an internal combustion engine with six cylinders aligned in a single row. ... 1933 Bugatti DOHC straight-8 in a Type 59 Grand Prix racer 1940s Oldsmobile Straight-8 engine A Straight-8 is a straight engine with eight cylinders. ... A Straight-10 engine is a straight engine with ten cylinders. ... A Straight-12 engine is a Straight engine with twelve cylinders. ... A straight-14 engine is a straight engine with fourteen cylinders. ... A V engine is a common configuration for an internal combustion engine in which the pistons are aligned so that, if viewed along the line of the crankshaft, they appear to be in a V. Usually, two opposing pistons share one crank on the crankshaft. ... Honda 90° transverse V-twin A V-twin is a two cylinder internal combustion engine where the cylinders are arranged in a V configuration. ... 1700 cc High Compression Ford Taunus V4 V4 and V-4 redirect here. ... The Ford Essex V6 engine A V6 is an internal combustion piston engine with six cylinders in a V configuration. ... The Liberty V8 aircraft engine clearly shows the configuration. ... A V10 engine is a V engine with 10 cylinders in two banks of five. ... A V12 engine is a V engine with 12 cylinders. ... A V16 engine is a V engine with 16 cylinders. ... A V20 engine is a V engine with 20 cylinders. ... A V24 engine is a V engine with 24 cylinders, suitable only for very large trucks or locomotives. ... A flat engine is an internal combustion engine in which the cylinders are arranged in two banks on either side of a single crankshaft so that the motion of all the pistons is in a single plane. ... BMW motorcycle powered by a flat-twin engine A flat-twin is a two cylinder internal combustion engine where the cylinders are arranged in a flat configuration. ... A flat-4 is a four cylinder internal combustion engine where the cylinders are arranged in a flat configuration. ... The flat-6 engine of the Honda Valkyrie motorcycle A flat-6 is a 6 cylinder configuration of a flat engine or boxer engine. ... A flat-8 is an internal combustion engine in flat configuration, having 8 cylinders. ... The flat 10 engine is an engine with two banks of five opposing cylinders each. ... A flat-12 is an internal combustion engine in flat configuration, having 12 cylinders. ... A flat-16 is an internal combustion engine in flat configuration, having 16 cylinders. ... The W engine is an engine configuration in which the cylinder banks resemble the letter W in the same way a V engine resembles the letter V. There have been three entirely different implementations of this concept: one with three banks of cylinders, one with four and one with two... A W8 engine is an eight cylinder piston engine in a W configuration, or two juxtaposed V4 engine blocks, coupled to one crankshaft. ... A W16 engine is a sixteen cylinder piston engine in a W configuration. ... A W18 engine is an eighteen cylinder piston engine in a W configuration. ... An H engine (or H-block) is an engine configuration in which the cylinders are aligned so that if viewed from the front appear to be in a horizontal letter H. An H engine can be viewed as two flat engines, one atop the other. ... The VR6 engine is a configuration developed by the Volkswagen Group. ... Fairbanks-Morse opposed piston diesel engines on the submarine USS Pampanito. ... A U engine is a piston engine made up of two separate straight engine engines (complete with separate crankshafts) joined by gears. ... The square engine is an engine configuration used on some 4-cylinder motorcycles like the Ariel Square Four. ... Radial engine of a biplane. ... This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... A rotary engine is an internal combustion engine that does not use pistons in the way a reciprocating engine does, but instead uses one or more rotors, sometimes called rotary pistons. ... Wankel Engine in Deutsches Museum Munich, Germany The Wankel rotary engine is a type of internal combustion engine, invented by German engineer Felix Wankel, which uses a rotor instead of reciprocating pistons. ...

External links

• Volkswagen's VR6 and W-engines