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A V12 engine is a twelve-
cylinder A cylinder (from ) has traditionally been a three-dimensional solid, one of the most basic of curvilinear geometric shapes. In elementary geometry, it is considered a prism with a circle as its base. A cylinder may also be defined as an ...
piston engine where two banks of six cylinders are arranged in a V configuration around a common crankshaft. V12 engines are more common than V10 engines. However, they are less common than
V8 engine A V8 engine is an eight-cylinder piston engine in which two banks of four cylinders share a common crankshaft and are arranged in a V configuration. The first V8 engine was produced by the French Antoinette company in 1904, developed and u ...
s. The first V12 engine was built in 1904 for use in racing boats. Due to the balanced nature of the engine and the smooth delivery of power, V12 engines were found in early luxury automobiles, boats, aircraft, and tanks. Aircraft V12 engines reached their apogee during World War II, following which they were mostly replaced by jet engines. In Formula One racing, V12 engines were common during the late 1960s and early 1990s. Applications of V12 engines in the 21st century have been as marine engines, in railway locomotives, as large stationary power as well as in some European sports and luxury cars.


Design


Balance and smoothness

Each bank of a V12 engine essentially functions as a straight-six engine, which by itself has perfect primary and secondary engine balance. By using the correct V-angle, a V12 engine can therefore have a perfect balance. The even firing order for a four-stroke V12 engine has an interval of 60 degrees, therefore a V12 engine can be perfectly balanced only if a V-angle of 60 degrees is used. Many V12 engines use a V-angle of 60 degrees between the two banks of cylinders. V12 engines with other V-angles have been produced, sometimes using split crankpins to reduce the unbalanced vibrations. The drawbacks of V12 engines include extra cost, complexity, friction losses, and external size and weight, compared with engines containing fewer cylinders. At any given time, three of the cylinders in a V12 engine are in their power stroke, which increases the smoothness of the power delivery by eliminating gaps between power pulses. A V12 engine with a 180 degree V-angle is often called a flat-twelve engine (or a 'boxer twelve'). However, this terminology is incorrect for the majority of 180-degree V12 engines, since they use shared crankpins and are therefore not configured as boxer engines. Theoretically, the rotating parts of a V12 racing engine could be lighter than a crossplane V8 engine of similar displacement due to the V12 engine not requiring counterweights on the crankshaft or as much inertial mass for the flywheel. In addition, the exhaust system of a V12 engine is much simpler than would be required for a crossplane V8 engine to achieve pulsed exhaust gas tuning. However, the use of V12 engines in motor racing is uncommon in the 21st century.


Size and displacement

A 60-degree V12 engine is typically narrower than a 90-degree V6 or V8 engine of similar displacement. However, the V12 engine is usually longer than V6 and V8 engines. The added length often makes it difficult to fit a V12 engine into a passenger car, but the length is not typically a problem for trucks and stationary applications. Due to its narrower width, the V12 is common as locomotive, armoured tank, and marine engines. In these applications, the width of the engine is constrained by tight railway clearances or street widths, while the length of the vehicle is more flexible. In twin-propeller boats, two V12 engines can be narrow enough to sit side by side, while three V12 engines are sometimes used in high-speed three-propeller configurations. Large, fast cruise ships can have six or more V12 engines. In historic piston-engine fighter and bomber aircraft, the long, narrow V12 configuration used in high-performance aircraft made them more streamlined than other engines, particularly the short, wide
radial engine The radial engine is a reciprocating type internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinders "radiate" outward from a central crankcase like the spokes of a wheel. It resembles a stylized star when viewed from the front, and is ...
.


Usage in marine vessels

The first V-engine (a V-twin design) was built by Daimler in 1889, then the first V8 engine was built by Antoinette in 1903. These were followed by the first V12 engine in 1904, which was built by Putney Motor Works in London for use in racing boats. Known as the "Craig-Dörwald" engine after Putney's founding partners, the V12 engine was based on Putney's existing two-cylinder engine with a flathead design, a V-angle of 90 degrees and an aluminium crankcase. As in many marine engines, the camshaft could be slid longitudinally to engage a second set of cams, giving valve timing that reversed the engine's rotation to achieve astern propulsion. The engine had a displacement of a weight of and developed racing boats, but little is known of its racing achievements. Two more V12s appeared in the 1909-1910 motor boat racing season. The Lamb Boat & Engine Company in the United States built a engine for the company's 'Lamb IV' boat. The Orleans Motor Company built a massive flathead V12 engine with a power output quoted as "nearly ". In 1914,
Panhard Panhard was a French motor vehicle manufacturer that began as one of the first makers of automobiles. It was a manufacturer of light tactical and military vehicles. Its final incarnation, now owned by Renault Trucks Defense, was formed ...
built two V12 engines with four valves per cylinder, which were designed for use in racing boats. Large V12 diesel engines are common in modern cruise ships, which may have up to six such engines. An example of a currently produced V12 marine engine is the ''Wärtsilä 46F'' engine, where the V12 version has a displacement of and a power output of .


Usage in airplanes


1900s to 1930s

Five years after the first V12 engine was introduced,
Renault Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufactured ...
introduced the first V12 engine for aircraft in 1909. This engine had a V-angle of 60 degrees, air cooling and an intake over exhaust (F-head) valve arrangement. It had a displacement of , a weight of and produced at 1,800 rpm. The propeller was driven from the front end of the camshaft, thus spinning the propeller speed at half the speed of a typical crankshaft driven propeller, in order to improve the propeller efficiency. The Renault engine was closely mimicked by the RAF 4 and its derivatives, which was used by various British military aircraft during World War I. The RAF 4 engine had a displacement of , weighed and produced at 1,800 rpm. In March 1914, a prototype version of the
Sunbeam Mohawk The Sunbeam Crusader, originally known as the Sunbeam 150 hp, Sunbeam 110 hp or Sunbeam 100 hp (variations on the engine may also have been referred to as Sunbeam 120 hp or Sunbeam 135 hp), was an early British, side-va ...
V12 engine was unveiled in the United Kingdom, based on the 'Toodles V' motor racing engine. The production version was rated at at 2,000 rpm, making it the most powerful airplane engine in Great Britain at the outbreak of World War I. During and after World War I, various companies in the United States produced the
Liberty L-12 The Liberty L-12 is an American water-cooled 45° V-12 aircraft engine displacing and making designed for a high power-to-weight ratio and ease of mass production. It saw wide use in aero applications, and, once marinized, in marine use both ...
engine. In Austria, the
Austro Daimler Austro-Daimler was an Austro-Hungarian automaker company, from 1899 until 1934. It was a subsidiary of the German ''Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft'' (DMG) until 1909. Early history In 1890, Eduard Bierenz was appointed as Austrian retailer. The co ...
V12 engines were used by the large flying boats of the Naval Air Force and produced up to . By the end of World War I, V12s were well established in aviation, powering some of the newest and largest fighter and bomber airplanes. After World War I, many
Zeppelin A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship named after the German inventor Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin () who pioneered rigid airship development at the beginning of the 20th century. Zeppelin's notions were first formulated in 1874Eckener 1938, pp ...
s used V12 engines built by
Maybach Maybach (, ) is a German luxury car brand that exists today as a part of Mercedes-Benz. The original company was founded in 1909 by Wilhelm Maybach and his son Karl Maybach, originally as a subsidiary of ''Luftschiffbau Zeppelin GmbH'', and ...
and Daimler. V12 engines powered the first transatlantic crossings by the Curtiss NC flying boats (using four Liberty L-12 engines), the first non-stop transatlantic crossing in a Vickers Vimy (using two Rolls-Royce Eagle engines) and the first transatlantic crossing by an airship in the R-34 class airship (using five
Sunbeam Maori The Sunbeam Afridi was an aero-engine produced by Sunbeam during the First World War. Design and development Conceived to replace the Crusader/Zulu on the production lines, Louis Coatalen designed a companion engine for the V-12 Cossack, givi ...
engines).


1940s to present

V12 engines reached their apogee during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
with engines such as the British
Rolls-Royce Merlin The Rolls-Royce Merlin is a British liquid-cooled V-12 piston aero engine of 27-litres (1,650  cu in) capacity. Rolls-Royce designed the engine and first ran it in 1933 as a private venture. Initially known as the PV-12, it was late ...
and Rolls-Royce Griffon, the Soviet Klimov VK-107 and
Mikulin AM-38 The Mikulin AM-38 was a 1940s Soviet aircraft piston engine. It was a further development of the Mikulin AM-35 design. The AM-38 was used on the Il-2 Shturmovik and Il-10 ground attack aircraft. The AM-38 was installed experimentally in a MiG ...
, the American Allison V-1710, and the German Daimler-Benz DB 600 and Junkers Jumo. These engines generated about at the beginning of the war and over at their ultimate evolution stage. This rapid increase in power outputs was due to technology such as multi-speed
supercharger In an internal combustion engine, a supercharger compresses the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to produce more power for a given displacement. The current categorisation is that a supercharger is a form of forced indu ...
s and high octane fuels, and the V12 layout was commonly adopted due to its low vibrations so that the powerful engines did not tear apart the light airframes of fighters. The Allied forces used V12 engines with an "upright" design, while many German engines (aside from the
BMW VI The BMW VI was a water-cooled V-12 aircraft engine built in Germany in the 1920s. It was one of the most important German aero engines in the years leading up to World War II, with thousands built. It was further developed as the BMW VII and ...
, which was designed prior to World War II), used an inverted engine design, which had a lower centre of gravity and improved pilot visibility for single-engined designs. The only American-design inverted V12 engine of any type to see even limited service in World War II was the air-cooled Ranger V-770, which was used in aircraft that were only used for training purposes within the United States, such as the Fairchild AT-21 Gunner. The Rolls-Royce Merlin V12 engine was used in several British aircraft including the
Hawker Hurricane The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness b ...
and
Supermarine Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Gri ...
fighters, and the
Avro Lancaster The Avro Lancaster is a British Second World War heavy bomber. It was designed and manufactured by Avro as a contemporary of the Handley Page Halifax, both bombers having been developed to the same specification, as well as the Short Stir ...
and de Havilland Mosquito bombers. The Hurricane and Spitfire played vital roles in the
Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain, also known as the Air Battle for England (german: die Luftschlacht um England), was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defende ...
. The long, narrow configuration of the V12 contributed to good aerodynamics, while its smoothness allowed its use with relatively light and fragile airframes. In the United States, the Rolls-Royce Merlin engine was produced under license by Packard Motor Car Company, which was used in the P-51 Mustang fighter. This engine was also incorporated into some models of the Curtiss P-40, specifically the P-40F and P-40L. Packard Merlins powered Canadian-built Hurricane, Lancaster, and Mosquito aircraft, as well as the UK-built Spitfire Mark XVI, which was otherwise the same as the Mark IX with its British-built Merlin. The Allison V-1710 was the only liquid-cooled V12 engine designed in the United States that was used on active service during World War II. It was initially used in the
P-38 Lightning The Lockheed P-38 Lightning is an American single-seat, twin piston-engined fighter aircraft that was used during World War II. Developed for the United States Army Air Corps by the Lockheed Corporation, the P-38 incorporated a distinctive ...
, but the
turbosupercharger In an internal combustion engine, a turbocharger (often called a turbo) is a forced induction device that is powered by the flow of exhaust gases. It uses this energy to compress the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to pro ...
system required bulky ductwork and had poor high-altitude performance. In 1943, a version using a more conventional mechanical
supercharger In an internal combustion engine, a supercharger compresses the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to produce more power for a given displacement. The current categorisation is that a supercharger is a form of forced indu ...
began production. After World War II, V12 engines became generally obsolete in aircraft due to the introduction of
turbojet The turbojet is an airbreathing jet engine which is typically used in aircraft. It consists of a gas turbine with a propelling nozzle. The gas turbine has an air inlet which includes inlet guide vanes, a compressor, a combustion chamber, a ...
and
turboprop A turboprop is a turbine engine that drives an aircraft propeller. A turboprop consists of an intake, reduction gearbox, compressor, combustor, turbine, and a propelling nozzle. Air enters the intake and is compressed by the compressor. ...
engines that had more power for their weight, and fewer complications.


Usage in automobiles

In automobiles, V12 engines are less common than engines with fewer cylinders, due to their size, complexity, and cost. They have been mostly used for expensive sports and luxury cars thanks to their power, smooth operation, and distinctive sound.


1910s

One of the earliest recorded uses of V12 engines in automobiles was in October 1913, when a custom-built racing car competed at the Brooklands circuit in the United Kingdom. The car was entered by Louis Coatalen, who was chief engineer of the Sunbeam Motor Car Company. It was named 'Toodles V' (after Coatalen's pet name for his wife) and achieved several speed records in 1913 and 1914. The V12 engine had a displacement of , an aluminum crankcase, iron cylinders with L-shaped combustion chambers, a cam-in-block valvetrain and a V-angle of 60 degrees. Each bank of the engine consisted of two-cylinder blocks with three cylinders each. Valve clearance was set by grinding the relevant parts, the engine lacking any easy means of adjustment. This reflected the intention for the engine to be later used in aircraft since any adjustment method that could go wrong in flight was to be avoided. As initially built, the V12 was rated at at 2,400 rpm and weighed approximately . Amongst the first production cars to use a V12 engine were the 1915 Packard Twin Six, the 1915 ''National'' V12 engine and the 1917 Weidely Pathfinder; all of which were built in the United States.


1920s to 1940s

During the late 1920s, the number of marques offering V12 engines for their passenger cars increased and peaked in the 1930s. The lack of vibration and sound, inherent smoothness, and increased power were cited as key benefits for V12 engines. Automobile petrol produced in the 1920s and 1930s had lower octane rating, leading to lower engine performance ratings, and vibration isolating engine mounts were rarely fitted to the passenger cars in the 1920s and the early 1930s. Adding more cylinders to the engine was one of several techniques for performance increase. European passenger cars with V12 engines were: * Fiat 520 'Superfiat' (1921–1922) * Daimler Double-Six (several models built at different times from 1926 to 1938) * Horch 12 (1931–1934) * Hispano-Suiza J12 (1931–1938) *
Maybach Zeppelin The Maybach Zeppelin was the Maybach company's '' Repräsentationswagen'' model from 1929 to 1939. Named for the company's famous production of Zeppelin engines prior to and during World War I, it was an enormous luxury vehicle which weighed appr ...
DS 7 (1928–1930) and DS 8 (1930–1938) * Rolls-Royce Phantom III (1936–1939) *
Tatra 80 The Tatra 80 is a Czechoslovak luxury full-size car built by Tatra between 1931 and 1935. History Hans Ledwinka designed the car in 1930. It was launched in 1931, the same year as the Tatra 70, and the two models have the same backbone chassi ...
(1931–1935) American passenger cars with V12 engines were: * Auburn V-12 Speedster (1932–1934) *
Cadillac V-12 The Cadillac V-12 is a top-of-the-line car that was manufactured by Cadillac from the 1931 through the 1937 model years. All were furnished with custom bodies, and the car was built in relatively small numbers. A total of 10,903 were made in the ...
(1931–1937) * Franklin V-12 (1932–1934) * Lincoln K-series/Model K (1931–1940) ** Custom (1941–1942) ** Continental (1940–1948) * Lincoln-Zephyr V-12 (1936–1942) ** H-series (1946–1948) * Packard Twin Six (1916–1923 and 1932) ** Packard 905 (1916–1923) ** Packard Twelve (1933–1939) * Pierce-Arrow Twelve (1932–1938) ** Pierce Silver Arrow (1933) The economic hardships caused the
Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
meant that all American automakers except for Lincoln had discontinued production of V12 engines by the end of the 1930s. Lincoln themselves would cease V12 production in 1948, and no American automaker has built V12 engines since. Improvements in engine design, namely combustion chamber, piston form, fuel delivery system, and such enabled the lighter and cheaper V8 engines to surpass V12 engines in performance.


1945 to 1960s

Following the end of the Second World War, the economic austerity and changes in taste in many European countries led to the demise of luxury automobiles with V12 engines in the 1940s and 1950s. Lincoln continued the limited production of luxury cars with V12 engines from 1946 to 1948. The American manufacturers focused on continuously improving V8 engines and their performances through the 1950s, leading to the first "horsepower war" in the 1960s. In Italy, Enzo Ferrari introduced his first passenger car, Ferrari 166 Inter, in 1948 and fitted it with
Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...
V12 engine. Dissatisfied with the reliability and crudeness of his Ferrari 250 GT, Ferruccio Lamborghini wanted to develop his own passenger cars that were more cultured and more reliable than the cars produced by Ferrari. His first passenger car, a grand tourer, was 350 GT with DOHC engine. Both manufacturers have a long history of producing vehicles with V12 engines, which continues uninterrupted to this day. Cadillac experimented with V12 engines in 1963 and 1964 as a potential engine option for its first-ever front-wheel-drive car, Cadillac Eldorado. However, Cadillac was unsatisfied with the performance of its V12 engine, having little advantage over the large displacement V8 that was cheaper to enlarge for more power.


1970s to present

In Europe, several manufacturers added V12 engines to their line-up, as listed below: * Jaguar: The Jaguar V12 engine was an all-aluminium SOHC design with displacements of that was produced from 1971 to 1997 in the E-Type, XJS, and XJ. The first application for the engine was a 5.3 litre version used in the Jaguar E-Type sports car. * BMW: Production of V12 engines began with the
BMW M70 The BMW M70 is a naturally-aspirated, SOHC, V12 petrol engine, which was BMW's first production V12 and was produced from 1987 to 1996. The BMW S70/2 engine, largely unrelated to the M70 and S70B56 engines, is a naturally-aspirated, DOHC, V12 ...
SOHC engine introduced in the 1987 E32 7 Series luxury sedan. The engine was also used in the E31 8 Series. The engine was upgraded to a DOHC V12 engine in 2003, then to a turbocharged DOHC V12 engine which has been in production from 2008 to the present in the 7 Series. BMW V12 engines have also been used in several Rolls-Royce models, beginning in 1998 with the Rolls-Royce Silver Seraph. * Mercedes-Benz: The company's first V12 engine was the Mercedes-Benz M120 engine, a DOHC engine introduced in the 1991 ''Mercedes-Benz 600 SE'' luxury sedan. This engine was replaced by a SOHC V12 engine in 1998, then a turbocharged SOHC V12 engine which has been in production for 2003 to the present. Mercedes-Benz V12 engines have also been used in several Maybach models, beginning with the Maybach 57 and 62 in 2002. * Aston Martin: The 1999 Aston Martin DB7 V12 Vantage used the company's first V12 engine, a DOHC design. Variations of this engine were used in the Vanquish , DB9, DBS V12, Rapide, Virage, and V12 Vantage. This engine was replaced by a turbocharged DOHC V12 engine, which was introduced in the Aston Martin DB11 and has been produced from 2016 to the present. * Audi: The 2008–2012 Q7 SUV was powered by the Audi 6.0 V12 48v TDI engine, which was the first V12 diesel engine used in a production car. In the United States, no mass-produced V12 engines have been built since the 1940s, with U.S. manufacturers preferring to use large displacement V8 engines instead. Japanese manufacturers rarely produce engines with large displacements, therefore V12 engines are very rare. The sole Japanese V12 engine is the 1997–2016
Toyota GZ engine The Toyota GZ engine family consists of a single model, the 1GZ-FE. This engine is used as the powerplant for the second generation Century limousine from 1997 to 2017. 1GZ-FE The 1GZ-FE is a 48-valve DOHC V12 engine with variable valve timing ...
, a DOHC design which was used in the Toyota Century limousine. In China, the 2009
Hongqi HQE The Hongqi HQE (红旗HQE) is a large four-door limousine built by FAW Hongqi. Released in 2009, it is the first Chinese-built V12 cylinder engine-equipped luxury car. As Hongqi's most advanced top-of-the-line vehicle type, the HQE will serve ...
limousine, powered by a DOHC V12 engine, is the sole Chinese car to be produced with a V12 engine.


List of V12 production engines


Motor racing

V12 engines have often been used in Formula One, particularly from the 1966 season to the 1969 season. The first V12 engine used in Formula One was in the 1964
Honda RA271 The Honda RA271 was Honda's second Formula One racing car, and its first to actually enter a race. The chief engineer on the project was Yoshio Nakamura, with Tadashi Kume in charge of engine development. It was driven in three races during ...
racing car, and continued through to the 1968
Honda RA301 The Honda RA301 was a Formula One racing car produced by Honda Racing for the 1968 Formula One season. It was introduced during the 1968 Spanish Grand Prix, the second round of the season. Like its predecessor (RA300), the car was co-develope ...
racing car. The 1966 season saw V12 engines become popular, with new V12 engines from Ferrari, Maserati, and Weslake. Ferrari's engine debuted in the Ferrari 312 racing car and was used up to the 1975 Ferrari 312B, after which Ferrari switched to a flat-twelve engine. Maserati's engine was introduced in the Cooper T81 and was used until the 1969
Cooper T86 The Cooper T86 was a Formula One racing car built by Cooper and first raced in 1967. B and C specification cars were also built to accommodate different engines, but the car could not revive Cooper's fortunes and this type represents the last For ...
. The Weslake V12 engine was used from 1966 to 1968 and was introduced in the Eagle Mk1 racing car. BRM produced V12 engines from the 1968
BRM P133 The BRM P133 was a Formula One racing car which raced in the 1968 and 1969 Formula One seasons. Design The P133 was the works built version of the Len Terry designed P126, the three examples of which had been built by Terry's Transatlanti ...
racing car until the 1977
BRM P207 The BRM P207 was a Formula One racing car, designed by Len Terry and constructed by British Racing Motors, which raced in the 1977 Formula One season. It was powered by a 3.0-litre V12 engine, with a claimed output of 488bhp. London-based Swiss w ...
. The
Matra Sports V12 engine The Matra Sports V12 engine is an automotive internal combustion engine for sports car endurance racing and Formula One. It won the 24 Hours of Le Mans three times. Characteristics The Matra Sports V12 is a four-stroke, water-cooled all-alumi ...
was introduced in the 1968 ''Matra MS11'' racing car and used until the 1978 Ligier JS9. Few V12 engines were used in the following decade, with the exception of the Alfa Romeo V12 which was first used by the 1979
Brabham BT48 The Brabham BT48 was a Formula One racing car designed by Gordon Murray and raced by the Brabham team. The car, powered by a 12-cylinder Alfa Romeo engine, competed in the 1979 Formula One season. The intended plan was to run the BT47 but the F ...
and then by Alfa Romeo until the 1982 Alfa Romeo 182. A resurgence of V12 engines in Formula One began in 1989, with the introduction of the
Ferrari 640 The Ferrari 640 (also known as the Ferrari F1-89) was the Formula One racing car with which the Ferrari team competed in the 1989 Formula One World Championship. It was driven by Britain's Nigel Mansell, in his first season with the team, and Aust ...
racing car. Ferrari continued to use V12 engines until the 1995
Ferrari 412 T2 The Ferrari 412 T2 was the car with which Ferrari competed in the 1995 Formula One World Championship. Designed by John Barnard and Gustav Brunner at Shalford in the United Kingdom, the car was launched at Maranello on the 6th February, 1995. Des ...
became the last Formula One car to use a V12 engine. The Lamborghini LE3512 engine was used by various teams between 1989 and 1993. The ''Honda RA122-E'' engine was first used in the 1991 McLaren MP4/6 and was raced until the 1992 McLaren MP4/7A. The ''Yamaha OX99'' engine was used in the 1990 Brabham BT59 through to the 1992 Brabham BT60. The most powerful naturally-aspirated V12 engine used in Formula One was the ''Tipo 043'', used by
Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...
in , which produced 850 hp (634 kW) @ 15,800 rpm. In prototype sports car racing, the highly successful 2006–2008 Audi R10 TDI used a diesel twin-turbo V12 engine. The
Peugeot 908 HDi FAP The Peugeot 908 HDi FAP is a sports prototype racing car built by the French automobile manufacturer Peugeot to compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race, starting in 2007 and eventually winning in 2009. This effort, in development sinc ...
, introduced in 2007, also used a diesel twin-turbo V12 engine. File:Lambo V12 F1.JPG , 1989–1993 Lamborghini LE3512 File:Honda RA121E engine front Honda Collection Hall.jpg , 1991 Honda RA121E File:Matra MS11 (3).jpg , 1968
Matra MS11 The Matra MS11 is a Formula One car used by the Matra team during the 1968 Formula One season, developed from the successful MS7 F2 car. It was relatively unsuccessful compared to its sibling, the Cosworth DFV powered Matra MS10 which Jackie St ...


Usage in trucks

Several truck manufacturers have produced V12 diesel engines at various times. For example, the 1967–1982
Tatra T813 The Tatra T813 was a truck produced in Czechoslovakia by the Tatra company. It was produced from 1967 to 1982.Moderní Uźitkové Automobily TATRA kolektiv vývojove konstrukce N.P. Tatra Kopŕivnice 1979 Naśe Vojsko Praha, První vydání The ba ...
, built in Czechoslovakia, used a naturally aspirated V12 diesel engine, and the 1983–present Tatra T815 is available with a V12 diesel engine in both naturally aspirated and turbocharged forms. In the United States, V12 versions of the 1938–1995 Detroit Diesel Series 71, the 1967–1999 Detroit Diesel Series 149 and the 1974–1995 Detroit Diesel Series 92 were produced. In Japan, Isuzu produced naturally aspirated V12 diesel engines from to in 1976–2000, for their heavy duty trucks: New Power, 810 and Giga. Trucks using V12 gasoline (petrol) engines are rare, however several were produced in the United States from the 1930s until the 1970s. In 1931, ''American La France'' began producing firetrucks with V12 gasoline engines based on the ''Lycoming BB motor''. In 1935, the V12 engine used by the
Pierce Arrow The Pierce-Arrow Motor Car Company was an American motor vehicle manufacturer based in Buffalo, New York, which was active from 1901 to 1938. Although best known for its expensive luxury cars, Pierce-Arrow also manufactured commercial trucks ...
luxury car was fitted to firetrucks built by Seagrave (with production continuing until 1970, since Seagrave purchased the equipment to manufacture the Pierce Arrow engines themselves). The 1960-1965 GMC Twin Six gasoline V12 engine was basically the ''GMC 351'' V6 engine, doubled, with four rocker covers and four exhaust manifolds. Peak power was only . However peak torque was .


Usage in railway locomotives

Many diesel locomotives use V12 engines. Examples include the EMD 12-710 and the ''GEVO-12'' engine (used in the GE ES44AC North American locomotives). V12 engines used in railway locomotives include:


Usage in armoured fighting vehicles

The V12 is a common engine configuration for tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles. Some examples are: * German HL120TRM gasoline engine, used on World War II
Panzer III The ''Panzerkampfwagen III'', commonly known as the Panzer III, was a medium tank developed in the 1930s by Germany, and was used extensively in World War II. The official German ordnance designation was Sd.Kfz. 141. It was intended to fight ot ...
,
Panzer IV The ''Panzerkampfwagen'' IV (Pz.Kpfw. IV), commonly known as the ''Panzer'' IV, was a German medium tank developed in the late 1930s and used extensively during the Second World War. Its ordnance inventory designation was Sd.Kfz. 161. The Panz ...
and other tanks based on their chassis. The Maybach HL230 and its variants was used on the
Panther Panther may refer to: Large cats * Pantherinae, the cat subfamily that contains the genera ''Panthera'' and ''Neofelis'' **'' Panthera'', the cat genus that contains tigers, lions, jaguars and leopards. *** Jaguar (''Panthera onca''), found in S ...
, Tiger II, Jagdpanther,
Jagdtiger The ''Jagdtiger'' ("Hunting Tiger"; officially designated ''Panzerjäger Tiger Ausf. B'') is a German casemate-type heavy tank destroyer ('' Jagdpanzer'') of World War II. It was built upon the slightly lengthened chassis of a Tiger II. Its o ...
(HL230 P30), then Tiger I and Sturmtiger which used the HL230 P45. * British Rolls-Royce Meteor petrol engine (derived from the ''Rolls-Royce Merlin'' aero-engine) used in the World War II Cromwell tank and Comet tank, and later in the Centurion tank and
Conqueror tank The FV 214 Conqueror, also known as "Tank, Heavy No. 1, 120 mm Gun, Conqueror" was a British heavy tank of the post-World War II era. It was developed as a response to the Soviet IS-3 heavy tank. The Conqueror's main armament, an L1 120  ...
. The Challenger 2 tank was powered by the ''Perkins CV12-6A'' diesel engine. * Soviet Kharkiv model V-2 diesel engine, used in the World War II T-34 tank, Kliment Voroshilov tanks and
IS-2 heavy tank The IS-2 (russian: ИС-2, sometimes romanized as JS-2The series name is an abbreviation of the name Joseph Stalin (russian: Иосиф Сталин); IS-2 is a direct transliteration of the Russian abbreviation, while JS-2 is an abbreviation ...
. Model V-44 12-cyl. 38.88 L diesel used on the late-war T-44. V-12 diesel engine used on T-72, basically supercharged version of
V-2 The V-2 (german: Vergeltungswaffe 2, lit=Retaliation Weapon 2), with the technical name ''Aggregat 4'' (A-4), was the world’s first long-range guided ballistic missile. The missile, powered by a liquid-propellant rocket engine, was develope ...
. * American Continental AV1790 engine, produced in gasoline and diesel variants, used on all versions of the
Patton tank Patton tank may refer to any of a series of tanks used by the United States military from the 1950s to the 1990s, named for General George S. Patton. Tanks in the series include: * M46 Patton, a medium tank model operational during the Korean ...
and on the
M103 heavy tank The M103 Heavy Tank (officially designated 120mm Gun Combat Tank M103, initially T43) was a heavy tank that served in the United States Army and the United States Marine Corps during the Cold War. Introduced in 1957, it served through 1974, b ...
. A prototype ''Chrysler A65'' V12 engine was tested in the M4 Sherman tank in 1943, but it did not reach production. *French Poyaud V12XS25 diesel engine used on the AMX-40. The Maybach HL 295 (reiteration of Maybach HL234, a later version of the Maybach HL230) was also used on the AMX-50 heavy tank. *Japanese Mitsubishi SA12200VD air-cooled V-12 diesel engine used on the
Type 97 Chi-Ha medium tank The was a medium tank used by the Imperial Japanese Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Battles of Khalkhin Gol against the Soviet Union, and the Second World War. It was the most widely produced Japanese medium tank of World War II. T ...
. A Mitsubishi Type 100 air-cooled V-12 diesel was also used on the
Type 4 Ho-Ro The was based on an already existing reinforced Type 97 Chi-Ha medium tank chassis developed by the Imperial Japanese Army in World War II. Development Inspired by the Grille series of self-propelled artillery vehicles developed by Nazi Germ ...
self-propelled gun.


See also

*
Flat-12 engine A flat-twelve engine, also known as a horizontally opposed-twelve, is a twelve-cylinder piston engine with six cylinders on each side of a central crankshaft. Flat-twelve engines are less common than V12 engines, but they have been used in vari ...
*
Straight-12 engine A straight-12 engine or inline-12 engine is a twelve-cylinder piston engine with all twelve cylinders mounted in a straight line along the crankcase. Land use Due to the very long length of a straight-twelve engine, they are rarely used in autom ...
* W12 engine


References

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