[CARS]: Bentley Bids Farewell To The 12-cylinder Bentley

Bentley waves goodbye to their most iconic engine ever created, for a smaller V8 and a hybrid system.

The 6-litre twin turbo W12 was first used in 2003, in the. Form of a Bentley Continental GT. And to pay tribute to that. The final version of the W12 is in a Bentley Continental GT 24hour Le Mans edition. A limited run of 48 units worldwide, retailed at 12 million rand. This could be the most expensive Bentley in the country currently.

There is a reason for that price-tag and why it is a collector’sitem. Each car is delivered with its unique extras like special car covers, Speed 8 booklet and many more. More impressively are the interior details, where the dash is fitted with six of the iconic victories at Le Mans races, surrounded by green tinted carbon fibre. The rotating center dash has the coolest analog dials. One of which is half a valve from the 2003 Le Mans winner Number 7 Speed 8 racecar.

The Speed 8 details continue on the exterior to replicate that very racecar. The Continental GT 24 Hours Le Mans editions are all in the same British Racing Green metallic paint, white accents and details including the number 7 on the grille.

The engine in its final production version has 660 horsepower and 900 Nm of torque routed through an eight-speed dual clutch automatic and all-wheel drive system. Furthermore, what you have is a 2.1-ton super gran tourer that does its top speed of 335 Km/h in sixth gear, and only using seventh and eighth for efficiency purposes.