Bentley W12 (and Audi and VW) engine production centres on Crewe

The impressive Bentley W12 engine will now be produced only in Crewe as Bentley becomes the Centre of Excellence for VW W12 engines.

It’s probably not something you’ve paused to think about much, but if you did you’d assume that the Bentley W12 engine – fitted to the Flying Spur and Continental GT as well as the Audi A8 and VW Phaeton – was made only in Crewe. But you’d be wrong.

In fact, the W12 for Bentleys are made in Crewe but those used in the Audi A8 and VW Phaeton are actually built by VW at their engine plant in Salzgitter. But that’s about to change.

In a move that will see Salzgitter give up making the W12, production for the whole VW group will move to Crewe, creating 100 new jobs in the process and making Bentley an exporter of engines for the first time.

It’s a sensible move given that the W12 engine is a very small production operation (the most Bentley are expected to turn out in a year will be 9,000) and Bentley already uses the majority of the W12 engines the VW group make.

The number of W12 engines used may increase with the arrival of the Bentley SUV in 2016 – which will use the W12 engine as well as a V8 and hybrid – but we can’t see a real long-term future for the W12, even in a Bentley, with the motor industry downsizing cylinder counts.

Still, it’s good news for Bentley, and W12 A8 and Phaeton buyers will now be able to genuinely claim their car has a Bentley engine.