W 12 engine, as the jewel in the crown of Volkswagen Group's internal combustion engine technology, has gradually lost its leading role. Audi A8 cancelled the W 12 version. At present, only Bentley still maintains the dignity of W 12.
Is it necessary to own this famous W 12 engine in the future? Let's take a look today.
▍W 12 engine▍ Background
The W 12 engine of Volkswagen Group is one of the most famous designs in the history of internal combustion engine industry. Its structure is very special. At present, only Volkswagen is designing and manufacturing this W-structure engine.
To understand the structure of W 12, we must first understand the structure of VR6.
Volkswagen's VR6 engine is a V-type engine with a cylinder angle of only 15. Because the cylinder angle is very small, one cylinder head can be used instead of two cylinders like other V6s with 60 and 90 angles.
Therefore, the appearance of this VR6 engine is very similar to that of an ordinary inline engine.
What's the 2.5T currently used on Volkswagen Tulong? V6 engine is VR6 structure.
The W 12 engine consists of two VR6 engines, each with six cylinders, so the 12 cylinders form a w-shaped layout.
Volkswagen W 12 was originally a naturally aspirated version, which is widely used in the top models of Volkswagen Group, such as Phaeton and Audi A8. In 20 17, Volkswagen upgraded the engine W 12 and introduced the supercharged direct injection TSI technology, which was called W 12? TSI (Audi calls it W 12? TFSI).
There are three main reasons why the public chose this special building W 12:
First, it is the advantage of four-wheel drive layout.
W 12 engine has a great advantage, that is, its length is shorter than V 12, and its cylinder arrangement is very compact. Therefore, the W 12 engine is used in the four-wheel drive system (below) which is easy to realize vertical arrangement. Because the length of V 12 is too long, it is generally difficult to arrange a four-wheel drive system.
Audi has always been famous for its four-wheel drive system, so it is very competitive to choose W 12 scheme on its flagship model to realize 12 cylinder and four-wheel drive.
The second is to expand the potential of 16 cylinder.
Another advantage brought by the short shaft size of W 12 engine is that it can be extended to 16 cylinder, although there is 8.0T used by Bugatti. The four-turbine engine of W 16 is extended from W 12.
Third, it reflects the technical strength of the public.
The uniqueness and complex mechanical structure of W 12 are enough to prove Volkswagen's super strength in the research and development of internal combustion engines. Therefore, W 12 has always been regarded by Volkswagen Group as a symbol of its internal combustion engine research and development capability.
The engine technology of W12 still stands out from the crowd.
Volkswagen's W 12 underwent a major technical reorganization on 20 17, and introduced many of Volkswagen's latest technologies. Compared with the V 12 engine of Mercedes-Benz BMW, the upgraded Volkswagen W 12 engine has maintained a leading position in technology. Technically, this W 12 engine can still stand out. ?
First, dual turbocharging technology and direct injection technology.
The introduction of dual turbocharging and direct injection technology makes this 6.0L? The performance of engine W 12 is greatly improved. The engine can output the maximum power of 608 horsepower and the peak torque can reach 900Nm. Moreover, the dynamic response is obviously improved compared with the previous naturally aspirated engine.
The second is the cylinder fire extinguishing technology.
The upgraded W 12 engine is equipped with Audi AVS variable valve lift technology, which can stop six cylinders unilaterally and operate in six-cylinder mode under light load to reduce fuel consumption. In the following figure, you can see the AVS drive groove on the right camshaft for cylinder quenching.
The third is APS coating technology for cylinder holes.
This is a new cylinder hole painting technology gradually applied by the public in recent years. As the flagship power, this W 12 will naturally not fall.
APS (atmosphere? Plasma? Spray) refers to the atmospheric plasma spraying process, that is, an iron alloy coating with a thickness of only about 0.3mm is sprayed on the surface of the cylinder hole of the aluminum cylinder block to replace the original iron cylinder liner.
APS coating technology can reduce the tendency of weight, friction, heat dissipation and knocking.
▍W 12 engine may have no future.
W 12 engine has complex structure and high cost, and was once a symbol of the research and development ability of Volkswagen Group's top internal combustion engine. But now the era has developed to the deep water area of electrification transformation, and the reason why W 12 exists is no longer valid:
On the one hand, the comprehensive electrification transformation initiated by Volkswagen Group will completely shift the focus of research and development from internal combustion engines to electric vehicles and hybrid technologies, among which large-displacement engines are the most important products to be abandoned.
Compared with motors in top luxury cars, large displacement internal combustion engines have no advantages in performance, and the pressure to meet environmental regulations is increasing. As the power of top luxury cars in the future, they are not attractive enough.
W 12 will no longer be the jewel in the scientific crown of Volkswagen Group.
On the other hand, Volkswagen Group is pushing a series of slimming plans recently, and its ultra-luxury brands that cannot provide profits are likely to be sold.
At present, it is reported that Volkswagen plans to sell Bugatti to the newly established electric sports car brand Rimac? Automolili, Lamborghini and even Bentley may appear on the sale list in the future.
W 12 and its derivative engine W 16 will lose these high-end vehicle customers in the future.
To sum up, although the latest version of W 12 engine is still quite advanced in technology, it is a general trend for large-displacement engines to withdraw from the market in electrified environment, and Volkswagen's W 12 may not wait for the next upgrade!
This article comes from car home, the author of the car manufacturer, and does not represent car home's position.