Audi Abandons W12 Engine, New A8 Will Be Its Last Hurrah
Audi will continue offering a big W12 engine as an option on the 2019 A8, but it also confirmed the current generation will serve as the motor’s swan song. Afterward, none of its models will boast 12 cylinders, at least for the foreseeable future.
While the matter is less pertinent for North America, as the largest powerplant currently available for the sedan stateside is the 4.0-liter TFSI, it’s always sad to see downsizing. But it doesn’t make much sense for Audi to stick with the Bentley Bentayga-sourced 6.0-liter W12 when it isn’t a big money maker for the brand.
Prospects don’t look particularly good for Audi’s V10, either. As the brand presses deeper into electrification, engine size will take a backseat to kilowatt hours and hybridization. In fact, the R8 already has a twin-turbocharged V6 in the works. That motor could end up be a replacement, rather than an option.
According to Car and Driver, Audi R&D head Peter Mertens was the one to break the W12 news to journalists. “We will not have the 12-cylinder forever,” Mertens explained at the Geneva Auto Show. “There are customers who really want the 12-cylinder and they are happy with it and are going to get it. But this is going to be the last installation.”
He went on to suggest that other engines would probably be cut from Volkswagen Group’s lineup as the manufacturer’s focus shifts toward electric vehicles. He also noted that regulatory pressures are heavier than ever and ensuring compliance with the tough new Worldwide Harmonized Light Vehicle Test Procedures won’t be easy. “Think of every engine and transmission combination that has to be homologated. That’s a hell of a job we are doing.”
Understandable, but unpleasant just the same. However, Mertens doesn’t want auto enthusiasts to fret; he says Audi will continue producing performance vehicles. They’ll just be electrified with more emission-friendly engines.
[Image: Audi]
A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.
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Once suitably clogged up by contemporary light weight, low flow turbos, the engine layout largely ceases to matter much. All focus is shifted to make the need to, and benefit from, revving past the point where all engines more cylinderous than a Harley style V Twin, are largely indistinguishable anyway. Resulting in engines that are too asthmatic to sing up where their layout matter much. The 4.0 V8 "standard" engine (US) in the A8, is as notionally good as any out there. But man, is it dull compared to the NA V12 in the Rapide (and other Astons). If only the Rapide was a bit more sensible, a bit more suitable for appearing sensible, a bit less likely to roll over and play dead somewhere in Bumeff Nevada or The Yukon, and a bit less of a pain in the wallet....
Agree on the W12 being a bit of a dinosaur that really just added a lot of unnecessary mass and didn't provide much to the driving experience. I have always appreciated the A8 and the S-Class distinctly: the S-Class is pure opulence and presence and I love it for that. It's baller. The A8 has nowhere near the presence or feel of the S-Class, but it's a great car in its own right. The new model does what the previous one couldn't: it's the more modern (especially interior) antidote to the old world feel of the S-Class. Both great cars, but also guaranteed to appeal to completely different personalities.