{"id":2148633,"date":"2026-09-17T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-16T21:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2148633"},"modified":"2026-09-17T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-09-16T21:00:00","slug":"12-of-the-greatest-and-strangest-v12-engines-ever-made","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2148633","title":{"rendered":"12 of the greatest (and strangest) V12 engines ever made"},"content":{"rendered":"
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British-engineered 3.9-litre wailer in Gordon Murray\u2019s\u00a0hypercars revs to a record\u00a012,100rpm \u2013 beating Cosworth\u2019s own 6.5-litre 11,100rpm effort in the Aston Valkyrie. Yet it still delivers almost three quarters of its peak torque at 2,500rpm.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The chromed trumpets, the red heads (hence Testa Rossa) \u2013 Maranello\u2019s quintessential 1960s powerplant has pedigree, a soundtrack to die for, and is a treat to be behind when it\u2019s at a standstill.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Bizzarini allegedly got a bonus from Lamborghini for every extra bhp he could wring out over Ferrari. Lasted from 350 GT via Miura, Countach and Diablo to 670bhp Murcie\u0301lago SV, doubling in capacity.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Also known as the 627bhp Paul Rosche-designed masterpiece created specifically for the McLaren F1, after Gordon Murray\u2019s first choice Honda failed to supply a powerplant. Breathing in via a roof scoop, it\u2019s the induction noise king.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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No, it\u2019s not quite accurate to call Aston\u2019s touchstone V12, dating from 1999, two Mondeo V6s glued together. But Aston was owned by Ford back then, so it did borrow valvetrains from the Blue Oval\u2019s Duratec. And pistons. And rods.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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HE stands for high efficiency. Revamped XJS motor added digitally controlled fuel injection and high compression which enhanced power delivery while reducing fuel consumption by 50 per cent… to 15\u201320mpg. If you were good.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Derived from the Ferrari Enzo\u2019s \u2018F140B\u2019 madman, the F140C has served in the 599, F12, 812, LaFerrari, SP2, SP3 and now the namedropping Dodici Cilindri. Power and red lines climb, but it still passes noise and emissions laws.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The only V12 ever to win an F1 title, nestled in the McLaren MP4\/6 that was driven by Ayrton Senna in 1991. Special mention to Honda\u2019s tiny 1.5-litre RA272 V12, the first Japanese car to win an F1 race, in Mexico \u201865.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Developed in the early 1990s for the S-Class, the big whisperer grew to 7.1 then 7.3 litres for mad AMGs. Found its way into France\u2019s Mega Track off-road supercar and the CLK GTR Le Mans car, achieved legend status in Pagani\u2019s Zonda.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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To get niggly here, Ferrari\u2019s Tipo F102 engine isn\u2019t strictly a flat 12 because the cylinders don\u2019t fire in a boxer sequence, so it\u2019s actually a 180\u00b0 flat V12. Of course that didn\u2019t stop Ferrari putting it in a car literally called \u2018Boxer\u2019.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Dangerously BMW-ish name for a 6.75-litre bi-turbo velvet- gloved fist. In the Phantom it makes 664lb ft, yet emits only 60dB at 70mph. Quiet enough to hear your nails growing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Almost everyone has ridden\u00a0behind this 79-litre monster,\u00a0and it set the diesel train speed\u00a0record in 1987 powering the InterCity 125. Also found in naval subs, frigates and generating electricity on oil rigs. Thanks for your service.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

British-engineered 3.9-litre wailer in Gordon Murray\u2019s\u00a0hypercars revs to a record\u00a012,100rpm \u2013 beating Cosworth\u2019s own 6.5-litre 11,100rpm effort in the Aston Valkyrie. Yet it still delivers almost three quarters of its peak torque at 2,500rpm. The chromed trumpets, the red heads (hence Testa Rossa) \u2013 Maranello\u2019s quintessential 1960s powerplant has pedigree, a soundtrack to die for, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,237],"class_list":["post-2148633","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-topgear-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2148633","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2148633"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2148633\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2148633"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2148633"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2148633"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}