One German Automaker Vows To Keep the V-12 Alive

With the way things were going, the V-12 was destined to disappear as automakers downsized engines and added forced induction. They remain endangered, but V-12s are still far from extinct if Mercedes-Benz has its way. The automaker recently announced that the V-12 will stick around for a bit longer.

Markus Schäfer, the brand’s tech boss, told Autocar that the brand “will continue to offer V-12s.” That’s plural. However, Schäfer provided zero additional details to the publication, such as displacement, expected models, output, or whether it’d be hybrid. He wouldn’t even confirm if the engine was Euro 7 compliant, adding, “I will not say more, but it is coming.”

Mercedes currently offers the V-12 in just one model, the Maybach S680, and the number of V-12-powered cars continues to dwindle. There are only 11 cars available in 2025 with that many cylinders, and your choices are limited to Ferrari, Lamborghini, Rolls-Royce, Pagani, Aston Martin, and a few others.

The V-12 in the Maybach is a 6.0-liter twin-turbocharged unit that makes 621 horsepower. It also costs $235,450, which makes it the cheapest way to get into a new V-12 engine today. Yikes.

The automaker previously offered the V-12 in several models, including the AMG S65, the CL65, and SL600.

If the V-12 does power more models than just the Maybach in Mercedes’ future, there’s a high chance it’ll have some form of electrical assist. While the European Union might have watered down its Euro 7 regulations, which included leaving some metrics unchanged from Euro 6.

The new rules take effect in 2026, which may limit the engine’s availability on the continent. There are other markets with less stringent emissions regulations, like the Middle East and China, that could offer models with a V-12 engine.

That might include the United States as the federal government rolls back emissions standards here. It could allow automakers to continue selling large, thirsty engines well into the next decade, along with the V-8 that Mercedes says will remain in production as long as people want it.

The company recently admitted that it has made some missteps with its powertrain choices, like the turbo four-cylinder that powered the AMG C63. Maybe we’ll see the V-12 in a range of products, but we doubt that.