On the finish of the Nineteen Nineties, the automotive trade was in a state of flux. In opposition to this backdrop, Volkswagen was decided to make a quantum leap and show that it might compete within the supercar section with formidable tasks.
One in all these was the W12, an idea designed to reinforce the German firm’s progressive 12-cylinder W structure. Nonetheless, the automobile’s destiny was sealed by the group’s inside dynamics and new company methods, which decreased it to a mere styling train.
The dream Volkswagen
The Golf, Polo and Passat had been the three fashions that drove Volkswagen’s gross sales within the late Nineteen Nineties, however the Group additionally targeted on new powertrains throughout these years, together with a revolutionary 12-cylinder W. Created by combining two 2.8-litre VR6s with a 72° angle between the cylinder banks, it was a real focus of compactness and energy.
Such an engine, nevertheless, wanted to be one thing utterly completely different from the Volkswagens available on the market. That’s the reason, in 1997, CEO Ferdinand Piëch determined to entrust Giorgetto Giugiaro and Italdesign with the design of a automobile whose solely constraints had been the presence of Syncro four-wheel drive and a design that emphasised its sporty character.
The proper automobile on the mistaken time
The mission took form in file time and after simply six months of growth, the W12 Syncro was born, unveiled on the 1997 Tokyo Motor Present. It was a mid-engined coupé with 420 PS and 530 Nm of torque, four-wheel drive and a futuristic supercar design.
In 1998, Volkswagen didn’t hand over, however doubled down, presenting the W12 Roadster on the Geneva Motor Present, an open-top model with rear-wheel drive solely. It did not cease there, as a result of in 2001 the W12 Coupé, an excessive evolution of the design, was unveiled on the Tokyo Motor Present. The engine was elevated to six litres and produced over 500 PS with a torque of 621 Nm.
Renamed the W12 Nardò after the world pace file set on the Apulian observe, the automobile accelerated from 0 to 100 km/h in simply 3.5 seconds and reached a prime pace of 357 km/h (222 mph), thanks partly to its low weight of simply 1,200 kg.
Every part appears to be prepared for manufacturing, however right here comes the ‘catch’. Throughout these years, the group acquired manufacturers resembling Bentley, Lamborghini and Bugatti. We’ll by no means know the reality, however it’s potential that the administration on the time realised that such a supercar might have began the journey of those manufacturers on the mistaken foot, slowing down their relaunch and affecting their picture.
Though the supercar mission was shelved, the W12 did discover a place in some fashions within the years that adopted. These embody the Bentley Continental, whereas its 16-cylinder evolution powers the legendary Bugatti Veyron. Briefly, regardless that the Volkswagen W12 by no means noticed the sunshine of day as a manufacturing mannequin, its technological contribution was elementary to the way forward for the Group and the event of top-of-the-range engines.
