It produced about 485 kW (650 hp), was the first to use gas nitride hardening and introduced wet cylinder liners into Hispano-Suiza's aircraft engine range.
[2] The 12M and 12N engines were the first to use the gas nitriding surface hardening process on the cylinder walls, which reduced both wear and oil consumption.
They also used a novel, complicated but effective method of main bearing cooling, enhancing the local lubricant flow without requiring high overall oil pump speeds.
[3] A Hispano-Suiza 12Nb powered the Breguet XIX Point d'Interrogation on the first non-stop flight from Paris to New York in September 1930.
[1] The Swiss government, in the form of the KTA (Kriegstechninischen Abteilung or War Technical Department) purchased construction licences for the 12Nb and in 1932 eighty units were built at the Saurer lorry factory.