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A W12 engine is a twelve cylinder piston engine in a W configuration. They were, however, briefly and unsuccessfully used in the 1990 F1 World Championship by the Life team. All production W12 engines to date (April, 2005) use four banks of three cylinders (two narrow-angle V6 engine blocks), coupled to a common crankshaft, except for those that don't, such as the Napier Lion, below, which used three banks of four cylinders!

One of the most famous W12 engine was the Napier Lion (Broad arrow) which was produced by Napier at Acton, North London, from 1917 to the late 1930s. This mostly alloy engine had a capacity of 24 litres and produced from 450 hp to 900 hp. It was used in many racing cars by John Cobb and Malcolm Campbell, racing aircraft such as the Supermarine S5 Schneider Cup winner, and speed boats such as Hubert Scott-Paine's Miss Britain III.

At the 2001 Tokyo Motor Show, Volkwagen showcased the W12 Coupe, a mid-engined, rear wheel drive supercar powered by a 6 L W12 engine producing 600 hp. A week before, the W12 Coupe broke the world 24 hour endurance record. A total distance of 7085.7 kilometres (4402.8 miles) was covered at an average speed of 295.24 km/h (185.45 mph), breaking the old record by 12 km/h (7.5 mph). Production of the W12 Coupe was considered but is currently cancelled.

Volkswagen Group currently produces W12s based on two of its narrow-angle VR6 engines. The narrow angle of each set of cylinders allows just two camshafts to drive each pair of banks, so just four are needed in total. Note that this design differs from the W18 engine that Volkswagen produced for its Bugatti concept cars of 1998 and 1999. Due to this distinction, the VW Group's W12 engine is sometimes described as a "WR12".

The VW W12 is used in some high-end luxury models:

• Audi A8
• Bentley Continental GT
• Bentley Continental Flying Spur
• Spyker C12 LaTurbie
• Spyker D12 Peking-to-Paris
• Volkswagen Phaeton
• Volkswagen Touareg

• Volkswagen's VR6 and W-engines

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