Bentley W12 engine is the most advanced 12-cyl unit in the world

KUALA LUMPUR: The ever first W12 engine assigned to power the Bentley Bacalar has completed testing at Bentley's centre of excellence for W12 engines. It is considered to be the most advanced 12-cyl mill in history.

The said mill pumps out a maximum power of 659 PS and a peak torque of 900 Nm. As mentioned the power unit has completed production testing and assembly at the automaker's dedicated centre. Each W12 unit is hand-crafted by a team of 45 that takes over 6.5 hours to complete the setup before sending it for a highly sophisticated test regime that spans for over an hour and is done via three specialist diagnostic machines.

The testing not only inspects the quality of the engine, but it also provides several checkpoints to catalogue the exact behaviour of the mill from the time of manufacture.

W12 engine test details -

All the three tests are part of Bentley’s exceptional quality control process. The first one is for leakages and is undertaken when the mill is assembled and the points for water, fuel, and oil systems are closed.

The second test is known as the Cold Test and is considered to be the most advanced one of the lot. This test confirms the mill timing is accurate and therefore will achieve the best possible combustion cycle.It is to be noted that in order to gather cylinder-specific data, the Cold Test is performed before the turbocharger and other ancillaries are fitted.

The third and final test is the Hot Test. This one is conducted once the engine is fully assembled with all parts installed. This one stimulates the real-world usage of the car. Also, before beginning the Hot Test, the mill is sprayed with a UV dye to help identify any leaks. The fuel and coolant systems are pressurized with nitrogen and air respectively for a final time before the necessary fluids for testing.

Each and every W12 engine is tested for a minimum 21.5 minutes, they run up to 3,800 rpm with a max load of 300 Nm. One in every hundred UNIT goes through a complete 8-hour power test, it must achieve 900 Nm which runs up to 6000 rpm.

The W12 twin-turbocharged engine was first introduced in 2003 and over the year’s its refinement has seen up to 27 percent increase in power, 38 percent enhanced power, and 38 percent reduced emission. All of it has been possible with the optimization of the crankcase, improvements in the twin-scroll turbo tech and oil & cooling system, and more effective combustion & injection processes.

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