If you look at the big picture, combustion engines are living on borrowed time, at least in terms of being available on a mass scale. What’s more, over the last few decades, we've seen displacement reduced everywhere, leaving fewer V8 and V6 engines on the market, all to the benefit of 4-cylinder and even some 3-cylinder engines.
And what about V12 engines? They were always rare and are even more so now; but in some corners of the industry, they hang on.
Case in point, Maybach. As part of its 100th anniversary this year, Mercedes-Benz's ultra-luxury division has confirmed the return of a V12 engine under the hood of its flagship, the Mercedes-Maybach S-Class. Will we also see this engine under the hood of a top-of-the-line (!) version of the S-Class at Mercedes? It’s not out of the question, especially when you consider the engine is already there in the automaker’s arsenal.
Currently, Maybach has only two vehicles on the market: the 2021 GLS600 and the 2021 S580. Each is powered by a twin-turbo V8, with the 600 getting a little more out of it than the 580. Both benefit from a 48-volt hybrid system. In 2020, the Maybach S650 was powered by a twin-turbocharged 6.0L V12, a unit producing 621 hp.
There are other V12 islands in the industry, but you have to go to Aston Martin, Ferrari or Rolls-Royce, for example, to find them.
The V12 isn't dead, but they’re a rare breed, and you’ll have to dig deep into your pockets to get one.
