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There’s no alternative for displacement, particularly when Mercedes is hanging onto a dozen cylinders like a bakery clutching its final tray of cronuts.
And hey, whereas a baker’s dozen is 13, Stuttgart’s dozen remains to be 12… nevertheless it comes glazed with twin turbos and a aspect of swagger.
Mercedes’ tech boss Markus Schäfer confirmed it on the Munich motor present: the model will maintain providing V12 engines “into the subsequent decade.” In a world the place emissions guidelines learn like a ultimate boss combat, that’s a headline that makes lovers grin like youngsters in a sweet store.
The push comes at the same time as extra burdensome Euro 7 laws loom in Europe, which had many people frightened the large twelve could be retired for good. Schäfer didn’t dive into engineering specifics, however he hinted the engine can be made appropriate with EU7—suggesting the wizards in Affalterbach and Sindelfingen nonetheless have a couple of spells left.
What Will get the V12 Now—and What Would possibly Get It Subsequent
Proper now, the one Mercedes mannequin that also packs a V12 is the Maybach S680, a 603bhp limo that turns each freeway on-ramp right into a velvet-roped lounge. AMG’s outdated S65, CL 65, and SL 600 have lengthy since left the stage, which made the S680 really feel just like the final torchbearer. With this affirmation, the torch isn’t simply flickering—it’s formally obtained extra candles left to burn.
The corporate additionally floated the concept V12 fashions might be supplied selectively by market, which tracks with how totally different areas are dealing with combustion engine timelines. Translation: in case your ZIP code (or postal code) nonetheless permits it and prospects need it, the twelve may roll on.
The Broader Ice Image at Mercedes: Straights, Eights, and Technique
There’s extra excellent news for piston-people. Mercedes plans to maneuver away from the controversial four-cylinder plug-in setup within the C63 and GLC 63, changing it with up to date straight-sixes or an all-new V8 that’s “nearly completed” with EU7 compliance. In different phrases, the model’s efficiency bench is getting deeper, not thinner.
In fact, Mercedes acknowledges that locations just like the EU and US have 2035 combustion finish dates on the books—however different markets (assume the Center East, elements of Asia) could not. That’s the place the V12 and buddies can proceed to make noise, legally and gloriously, as long as folks maintain ordering them.
Why This Issues to Fans
As a result of the V12 isn’t simply an engine; it’s an expertise. It’s the creamy, off-idle torque that looks like an elevator hauled by silk rope. It’s the best way a Maybach S680 whispers at 80 mph prefer it’s idling in a cathedral. And it’s the symbolism: if the strictest laws will be met with out abandoning the twelve, then possibly the longer term isn’t binary.
Maybe we get cutting-edge electrification and a few fantastically over-engineered dinosaurs—refined, homologated, and nonetheless very a lot alive. For these of us raised on the concept important displacement is a sort of poetry, Mercedes conserving a V12 within the lineup feels just like the epilogue we really wished.
The Highway Forward
No detailed mannequin roadmap is obtainable but, and there aren’t any tech breakdowns of how the V12 clears EU7. However with Mercedes saying it’ll maintain promoting them “the place doable,” and with a recent EU7-compliant V8 almost prepared, the message is evident: the model isn’t phoning in its combustion swan track. It’s tuning it.
And in case you’re fortunate sufficient to stay in a market that also permits a twelve, your subsequent decade simply obtained much more musical.
