Mercedes Committed to the V12 Engine

By Jonathon Klein - October 27, 2014

With more and more stringent emissions and fuel economy regulations invading the auto market, manufacturers are looking for solutions across their lineups to help them meet those goals. While most automakers are embracing these solutions with turbocharging and displacement reduction, there are those few companies that are still attempting to preserve their larger engines for future generations. In this instance, it’s Mercedes. The company has already dove head-first into bringing most of its lineup to meet those regulations; however, many have wondered if this newfound need for reduction will kill off the mighty 6.0L V12.

According to AMG head Tobias Moers, the engine is still very much a part of Mercedes and will continue to be into the future, but possibly with a few tweaks. Speaking with Autocar, Moers stated the V12 engine will likely receive massive revisions in order to reduce both fuel consumption and emissions. The AMG Boss also stated that the revisions will likely come from adding a hybrid power unit as well as other tweaks. What’s interesting about this specific engine is that Mercedes isn’t the only manufacturer that uses it currently. Right now, Pagani has a contract with Mercedes to provide these V12 engines in order to power the Huayra supercar. This likely makes it near impossible for Mercedes to just outright kill the V12 without considerable loss of income. As more and more automakers turn to downsized engines with forced induction, it’s great to see a brand still committed to the old days, even if those days are numbered.