The Bentley Batur Convertible Marks A Stay Of Execution For The W12 Engine

Good news if you’re a billionaire and an in-home tanning bed is just a little too low-rent for you: The Bentley Batur Convertible has been unveiled right in time for nice weather, and it’s rocking a 740-horsepower twin-turbo W12. Hang on, wasn’t that engine supposed to be dead? I’m certainly not mad, but what on earth is it doing still alive and kicking?

In case you aren’t hugely familiar with Volkswagen Group’s W12, it’s a pretty cool engine. Basically, there used to be an engine called a VR6, which was a V6 with an ultra-narrow 15-degree cylinder bank angle that allowed the engine to use a single-cylinder head and fit in places where a normal V6 simply wouldn’t. Volkswagen then took two of those engines and merged them in CAD at a 72-degree angle around a common crankshaft. The result? The world’s only production W12 engine.

Bentley announced last February that production of the mighty W12 engine would “finish in April 2024,” with the ultimate iteration destined exclusively for the Batur coupe. As per a media release:

Bentley isn’t letting the W12 bow out without a dramatic send-off. Development work has concluded recently on the most powerful version of the W12 ever created. The ultimate iteration of this mighty engine – destined for just 18 examples of the Bentley Batur to be handcrafted by Mulliner – is now confirmed as developing 750 PS and 1,000 Nm of torque. The increased torque figure forms the typical Bentley ‘torque plateau’, running from 1,750 rpm to 5,000 rpm – with peak power at 5,500 rpm.

Well, those 18 coupe allocations came and went, as did April 2024, and we thought that was about the end of it. However, on Tuesday, Bentley announced it would make 16 Batur Convertibles, each with a 740-horsepower twin-turbocharged W12. You know, the engine that, according to an official media release, had a firm stop to exit production last month.

Batur Convertible 2

Now, the seven-figure Batur Convertible makes sense to build. It fills a missing link between the Batur coupe and the Bacalar roadster, and the world’s ultra-wealthy are clearly flush with enough cash to justify cranking out a small batch of these absurdly pricey drop-tops. However, how often does a car get unveiled after its engine was supposed to stop being made?

Batur 750ps Engine 1

We’re not talking about a kit car, or something that’s made on a small industrial estate, but a full-on Bentley on the high-end of a range of high-end cars from a marque that’s owned by Volkswagen. It’s not like Bentley is rebuilding engines from LKQ or anything, so these 16 engines are truly hot and fresh. That should be enough to make you wonder if Bentley has anything else it hasn’t told us.

Continental Gt Speed W12

After all, saying something will be the last-ever model and then being like ‘oops, my bad’ is a Pagani hallmark. Remember, the Zonda Cinque was meant to be the last Zonda, but then we got the Cinque Roadster, the Tricolore and the HP Barchetta, along with several one-off builds. Given that the Batur is basically a coachbuilt Continental that prints money, it doesn’t seem absurd to posit the theory that the Batur Convertible might not be the last W12 Bentley ever.

Batur 750ps Engine 3

Indeed, Bentley’s wording in the media release for the Batur Convertible supports this theory. Not only does the marque claim that the W12 will get a stay of execution until sometime this summer, it officially calls the Batur Convertible “one of the last ever Bentleys to use this incredible powertrain.” What does the firm mean by “one of”?

Batur Convertible 4

Right now, W12 isn’t actually dead, and Bentley hints that it has something up its sleeve. There’s already been a coupe, a truly topless barchetta, and this convertible, so what could be next? Here’s a bold idea: A W12-powered shooting brake. Come on, Bentley. You know you want to.

(Photo credits: Bentley)

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