W12 engine

A three-bank design was also used for an unsuccessful W12 engine which was intended to compete in Formula One in 1990.

As well as use in various military and racing airplanes, the Lion was also used in land speed record cars (such as the Napier-Railton and the Napier-Campbell Blue Bird) and racing boats (such as the Miss Britain III).

[2] The engine was used in rounds 1 to 12 of the 1990 season, however it was unreliable and lacking in power, and the car failed to pre-qualify for any races.

As a consequence, it cannot be considered a true three-block W-engine, in the manner of the Life F-1 engine, or the Napier-Railton.

The naturally aspirated variant of the WR12 engine has been used in the brands of Audi and Volkswagen.

[4] The first application of the Volkswagen WR12 was the 2001 Volkswagen W12 Nardò, a mid-engined concept car which set the 24‑hour world endurance record in 2001 with a distance of 7,085.7 kilometres (4,402.8 mi) and an average speed of 295 km/h (183 mph).

In 2023, Bentley Motors announced that it will retire the W12 engine in April 2024, citing emissions targets and the brand's impending electrification.