A German car maker promises to keep the V-12 alive

With the way things go, the V-12 was destined to disappear when car manufacturers and swallowed in and added induction. They remain threatened, but V-12s are still far from extinct when Mercedes-Benz has its way. The automaker recently announced that the V-12 will linger for a little longer.

Markus Schäfer, the technical boss of the brand, said Coach that the brand “V-12s will continue to offer.” That is plural. However, Schäfer did not give additional details to the publication, such as relocation, expected models, output or that this would be hybrid. He would not even confirm whether the engine was Euro 7 and adds: “I will not say anymore, but it will come.”

Mercedes currently offers the V-12 in just one model, the Maybach S680, and the number of V-12-powered cars continues to decrease. There are only 11 cars available in 2025 with so 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-turbo unit that makes 621 hp. It also costs $ 235,450, which is the cheapest way to get into a new V-12 engine today. Yikes.

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

If the V-12 delivers more models than just the Maybach in the future of Mercedes, chances are that it will have a form of electrical assistant. While the European Union may have weakened its Euro 7 regulations, including leaving some statistics unchanged from Euro 6.

The new rules come into effect in 2026, which can limit the availability of the engine on the continent. There are other markets with less strict emission rules, such as the Middle East and China, which can offer models with a V-12 engine.

The United States can include this if the federal government reverses the emission standards here. It can enable car manufacturers to continue to sell large, thirsty engines well into the following decade, together with the V-8 that, according to Mercedes, will remain in production as long as people want it.

The company recently admitted that it made a number of missteps with his powertrain choices, such as the Turbo Four cylinder that fed the AMG C63. We may see the V-12 in different products, but we doubt that.