BMW's mighty V12 to live on to at least 2023
Turbocharged 6.6-litre BMW V12 to remain in the line-up for another four years off the back of big demand in China and the Middle EastBMW has announced it has no plans to replace its flagship twin-turbocharged 6.6-litre V12 petrol engine, despite the pressure to downsize over emissions.
Other car-makers including Mercedes-Benz have already called time on the V12 over the need to lower fleet average CO2 emissions but according to BMW's head of powertrain, Michael Bayer, the most powerful V12 petrol engine is here to stay.
“We will keep [the V12] for the rest of this generation at least, until 2023,”
, adding the 6.6-litre's capacity might be reduced in the future, but it will keep all 12 cylinders.
The reason the BMW V12 will live on is big demand from China and the Middle East, says Christian Metzger, BMW's 7 Series product manager.
“Since we revealed this car, we have been at maximum capacity building these engines.”
According to Metzger the most powerful V12 remains popular despite incurring huge tax penalties.
When introduced under the bonnet of the BMW M760Li, the twin-turbo 6.6-litre V12 was the most powerful BMW money could buy.
But as part of the controversial 7 Series facelift, engineers were forced to detune the V12 from 449kW to 430kW following the addition of new particulate filters and the need to pass stricter emission tests.
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