The Long Goodbye: Every New Car Still Available With a 12-Cylinder Engine

Self-balancing by default, V-12 engines have long been considered to be the smoothest running of engine layouts, though their complexity compared to lower-cylinder-count engines has long meant they've only appeared in high-end vehicles since the earliest days of the automobile. The powerplant's last heyday was in the late 20th century, when a number of exotic and high-end luxury V-12 cars were available for the monied few who could afford them. Then in 2003, Volkswagen introduced a variation on the theme, the W-12, which it found success with under the hood of numerous Bentley models.

But times have changed in recent years due to the huge pressure placed on the world's automakers to dramatically decrease emissions. This has meant that V-12 cars, which are among the most inefficient models on the planet, have been targeted for extinction. That, and the move toward electrification, have meant the day of the V-12 engine is almost done. Although there are likely to be a few models sold outside the U.S. in the years to come, such as the Pagani Utopia and Hongqi HQE, the following list of vehicles are the last new V-12 cars available for Americans with the means to buy one.

Aston Martin DBS

While most V-12 cars of legend and lore were naturally aspirated, the overwhelming majority of modern-era cars such as the Aston Martin DBS feature turbocharged 12s. The combination provides horsepower and torque figures that would've seemed like fantasy 20 years ago, with performance to match. The 5.2-liter twin-turbo V-12 under the hood of the DBS makes 715 hp and 664 lb-ft of torque, enough to hurtle the 4,000-plus-pound coupe beyond 60 mph in 3.7 seconds during our testing. The flagship DBS is also imbued with Aston Martin's standard devastating good looks, though its transmission and overall dynamics are less than ideal.

Aston Martin V-12 Vantage

Once again, the exotic British hotrod has returned: the Aston Martin V-12 Vantage. Stuffing one of Aston Martin's largest and most powerful engines into its smallest car has always resulted in something of a British muscle car, though the twin-turbo 5.2-liter V-12's 690 hp and 555 lb-ft of torque can be used with surprising precision. The Vantage is now the smallest car with 12 cylinders, though it's not the fastest or lightest.

Aston Martin DB11

Unlike the Vantage, the Aston Martin DB11's mission is more one of grand touring excellence. The DB11 version of Aston's 5.2-liter twin-turbo V-12 is tuned for 630 hp and 516 lb-ft of torque, but the engine's true strength is its buttery smoothness. While comfortable and powerful, the DB11 does have interior quirks like the lack of a glovebox and sturdy cupholders. If you want a V-12-powered Aston GT car, you'll want to step on it, as the 2023 model is the last of the breed. In a sign of the times, its DB12 replacement will only be offered with eight cylinders.

Bentley Flying Spur Speed

Bentley announced early in 2023 it would stop producing its W-12 engine, with the Flying Spur and the Continental GT losing the engine as an option after it ceases production in early 2024. The W-12 proved to be popular, with some 105,000 engines produced during its roughly 20-year run. (The Bentayga SUV was also recently available with the W-12, but it's no longer for sale on the automaker's consumer site.) Bentley also recently offered the ultra-exclusive, $2.1 million Batur by its Mulliner division with a 740-horsepower version of the W-12.

A regal but also surprisingly athletic large sedan, the Bentley Flying Spur Speed variant offers 12 cylinders in the unconventional W configuration. In the Flying Spur Speed, the 6.0-liter twin-turbo W-12 powerhouse is good 626 hp, 664 lb-ft of torque, with a 207-mph top speed. While more than comfortable to hustle, the Flying Spur is built to glide at least as well as it gallops. It's an incredible combination of comfort and supercar-humbling handling all in one.

Bentley Continental GT Speed

If an ultra-luxurious, 12-cylinder powered grand touring coupe is your jam, then a Bentley Continental GT Speed is your instrument of choice. Style, speed, and sharper than expected handling only add to the greatness centered on its extravagant interior. The 6.0-liter W-12 still available for Continental GT Speed makes slightly more horsepower than the Flying Spur version, with 650 hp and 664 lb-ft of torque. There are other excellent grand tourers, especially since the Conti GT's price will rise even faster than the speedometer when adding options, but the Bentley coupe and GTC Speed convertible variant are exceptionally challenging to beat. If powering across continents in supreme comfort for you and a chosen companion is the use case, and money is no object, the Continental GT is the choice.

Ferrari 812

With a classic 6.5-liter V-12 making an astonishing 819 hp and 510 lb-ft of torque and revving to almost 9,000 rpm, the Competizione variant of the Ferrari 812 (the 812 Superfast has been retired) emphasizes speed over comfort, though the GTS drop-top's 789 hp is bonkers, as well. A 0-60 sprint in under three seconds is a testament to the fact the 812 is as much a hypercar as it is an ultimate Ferrari grand tourer. Unlike some other modern high-powered cars, the 812 does require some finesse when driving, given that all those ponies haven't been shackled down with all-wheel drive or fitted to a mid-engine layout. There isn't a hybrid system, and there are no turbos. The 812 is as classic as a front-engine, rear-drive layout can be, just with one of the most powerful naturally aspirated engines, V-12 or otherwise, ever mounted in a production car.

Ferrari Purosangue

A less powerful version of Ferrari's naturally aspirated, 6.5-liter V-12 with 715 hp at 7,750 rpm and 528 lb-ft of torque is found under the hood of the Ferrari Purosangue, the firm's first ever SUV. Gorgeously styled and looking more like a Ferrari superhatch than SUV, the "pureblood" has plenty of Ferrari swagger, even though it has four bucket seats. The Purosangue's cargo area is less than capacious, and practicality in general is decidedly not the only priority, but for a Ferrari SUV, that's the whole point.

Ferrari Daytona SP3

With 599 copies to be built (all of which are already spoken for), the Ferrari Daytona SP3 is the ultimate expression of the brand's present-generation V-12 cars. Built from the LaFerrari Aperta chassis and powered by an 828-hp version of Ferrari's 6.5-liter V-12, the very limited and special Icona-line Daytona SP3 sits outside the standard Ferrari lineup and was available for only the most connected of Ferrari clients.

Lamborghini Revuelto

A version of the same V-12 that has powered the biggest and baddest Lamborghinis since what feels like the dawn of time will be found under the hood of the coming Lamborghini Revuelto. But this time that primordial 6.5-liter V-12 engine will be developing 820 hp and 535 lb-ft of torque and will be supplemented by two electric front motors and a single electric rear motor powered by a 3.8-kWh battery. It all adds up to an absolutely insane 1,001 hp with a 0-62 mph time expected to be 2.5 seconds. It's a quickness normally associated with fully electric cars, but in a now-classic mid-engine, all-wheel-drive Lamborghini layout. There aren't many production cars that can effortlessly pull off scissor doors, but the Revuelto is one of them.

Mercedes-Benz S-Class Maybach S680

As much a flagship Mercedes as it is one of the last flagship V-12 powered luxury sedans in general this side of Rolls-Royce, the Mercedes-Benz S-Class Maybach S680 defines multiple maximums. Maximum comfort, maximum ease, and maximum pricing for a "non-ultra exotic luxury" luxury sedan. For many, the Maybach name by itself is exotic enough, along with a feature list that might as well include arcane magic and alien technology in equal measure. What powers this exclusive upgrade to the already first-rate S-Class is a twin-turbo V-12 making 621 hp and 664 lb-ft of torque, effortlessly transposing this hefty composite of luxuries across the landscape.

Rolls-Royce Ghost

If Mercedes is too pedestrian a name for your preferred conveyance, even with Maybach attached, then the Rolls-Royce Ghost might just be the exotic luxury sedan for you. Perhaps the most astonishingly indulgent "entry-level" vehicle available from any automaker, the Ghost is motivated by the same glass-smooth, twin-turbo 6.75-liter V-12 found under the hood of the Cullinan SUV and the Phantom flagship sedan. In the Ghost it makes 563 hp and 627 lb-ft of torque, or 592 hp and 664 lb-ft in Black Badge trim. For a mansion on wheels, the Ghost handles surprisingly well and is anything but slow.

Rolls-Royce Cullinan

While other exotic SUVs tend to blend space with surprising cornering ability, the Rolls-Royce of SUVs embraces the brand's deliciously ostentatious and ultra comfortable ride and handling. The Rolls-Royce Cullinan is well over 6,000 pounds' worth of authoritative luxury, and while the Rolls sedan look pulled over an upright SUV shape isn't the most natural, the world-beating interior finish and cloud-like ride are maximum Rolls-Royce, as is the brand's 6.75-liter twin-turbo V-12 that produces 600 hp and 664 lb-ft under the hood of the Cullinan.

Rolls-Royce Phantom

Doubling the prices of other ultra-luxury V-12 cars, the Rolls-Royce Phantom is arguably the world's ultimate ultra-luxury sedan. How on earth could its price be justified? Other Rolls-Royce cars have similar engines (the Ghost has the same hand-built, twin-turbo 6.75-liter V-12 with the same 563 hp and 664 lb-ft of torque), similar interior space, and similar ability to make the troubles of the outside world vanish. Similar, perhaps, but not the same. Even time would seem to operate differently inside the Phantom, let alone sound. Just like the difference between an old beater and a new Camry, or a new Camry and an S-Class, is the difference between an S-Class and a Phantom.

How Rare Are V-12 Engines?

V-12 cars were never exactly common, but their rarity is rapidly increasing as the industry downsizes engines and finds new ways to make smaller and lower-cylinder-count engines smoother and more powerful. Not to mention the move to all-electric vehicles. Almost all the current V-12 engines available now are based on several decade-old designs, with Ferrari and Lamborghini V-12s especially being older than many of the cars' wealthy owners. There was a time in the '90s when slapping two V-6s together at the crankshaft was seen as a good way to build a V-12, à la GT90, but new V-12s were endangered decades before downsizing and electrification came into the picture.

Is a V-12 Engine Better Than a V-8?

For modern production cars, the main reasons to select a V-12 over a V-8 come down more to heritage than performance. V-12 engines were once valued for power, as they are naturally balanced and beautifully smooth without the help of additional balance shafts that engines like inline-fours often require. These days the easier build process and greater simplicity of the already decently smooth V-8, combined with smaller displacements and the ability to make just about any desired power number with forced induction (and the coming all-electric revolution) have made V-12s largely go the way of the V-16.

How Much Power Can a V-12 Engine Make?

As of 2023, the most powerful naturally aspirated V-12 car sold in U.S. is the 2023 Ferrari Daytona SP3, at 828 hp. The Ferrari 812's 819 hp is almost identical but in a car that isn't sold out. Lamborghini's Revuelto makes 820 horsepower without the hybrid boost and 1,001 horsepower with the additional electric oomph. All told, the classic V-12 appears to max out at just over 800, and in an interesting twist, the turbocharged variants haven't eclipsed the factory horsepower of the naturally aspirated examples.

Every Car Still Available With a V-12 Engine

• Aston Martin DBS
• Aston Martin Vantage
• Aston Martin DB11
• Bentley Flying Spur Speed
• Bentley Continental GT Speed
• Ferrari 812
• Ferrari Purosangue
• Ferrari Daytona SP3
• Lamborghini Revuelto
• Mercedes-Benz S-Class Maybach S680
• Rolls-Royce Ghost
• Rolls-Royce Cullinan
• Rolls-Royce Phantom