CCotW: Volkswagen W12 series (1997-2001)

The test mule is the ‘Frankenstein’s monster’ of the automotive world. Some hapless donor car, or a partially completed prototype, is refitted with a new engine, or various other technologies (autonomous functions being the current favourite), and junkyard body panels (see below). Then, covered with instruments and hideous camouflage, it is sent out to a track or public road for testing.

Two Chevrolet test mules – a C8? (top), and a Malibu with Corvette wheels and badging. Check out the exhaust… © Motoring Exposure

But, occasionally, a manufacturer will want to make a statement with a test mule, and invest in a world-class design package to wrap around all that experimental technology. Such was the case with the Mercedes C-111 series in the 1970s, and in the 1990s Volkswagen decided to do the same thing.

Two of the Mercedes C 111 prototypes. Daily driver on the left for scale

It was Ferdinand Piëch, the Volkswagen Group CEO, who brought the design problem to Giorgetto Giugiaro and his team at Italdesign in 1996. The brief was to design a super coupé that would house a W12 engine amidships, and utilize VW’s Syncro Four-Wheel Drive system.

VW Group W12 engine (Audi version)

The W12 Engine

The W12 engine format was not invented by Volkswagen. It had been used as far back as the 1920s, by Napier and other French manufacturers, primarily as an aircraft engine. The twelve cylinders are usually arrayed in three banks of four, with each cylinder set at 60 degrees to the adjacent one. The Volkswagen W12 had cylinders arranged in an even narrower angle. This allowed for a shorter (but wide) engine, as opposed to a more conventional V12 or an extremely long inline-12.

Italdesign described the Volkswagen W12 engine layout like this: “The basic layout of the W12 engine is made up of two very thin V6 four-valve modules which are configured at an angle of 72 degrees with a joint crankshaft with seven main bearings to make up a V-V arrangement. The cylinder angle is just 15 degrees within the two V6 banks. This makes the construction, which is very compact in comparison to V12 engines, possible.”

1991 Audi Avus – a design classic and the first of a series of W12 cars

Volkswagen had presented its first modern W12 in the 1991 Audi Avus concept car. VW continued the development through the 1990s until it was necessary for new test mules. Enter the W12 Syncro.

The Syncro – a dramatic comeback for the W12 engine

W12 Syncro (1997) and Roadster (1998)

Introduced at the 1997 Tokyo Motor Show, the Syncro was a dramatic coupé in a classic mid-engined supercar format. The long rear deck and engine were covered

with a great glass canopy, which transitioned into a curved glass roof that vaulted over the cabin.

Overhead view shows dramatic glass canopy over cabin and engine

“For once, explained Giorgetto Giugiaro at the time, “I did not concentrate on the body when designing this prototype: I put together a casing, a shell around the central engine, which I left on view to emphasise its importance and enhance performance levels.”

Inside the cabin, the design was meant for efficient and enjoyable driving, but the layout was classic sports car – no science-fiction radars or holographic displays. The W12 was meant for testing, with a luxury feel for visiting Volkswagen executives and the lucky few press and dignitaries that might also get a ride.

Syncro interior – well-tailored, but not breaking new ground

Just four months after the Tokyo show, the roadster version of the W12 was an introduced at the 1998 Geneva show. It was an interesting variant of the Syncro concept, with a lighter, sunnier feel than the serious demeanour of the coupé. You had a feel that this car longed more for the Corniche than the test track.

The W12 roadster was a little more “La Dolce Vita” in spirit than the Coupé

Although virtually the same in dimensions and capacities, the roadster had replaced the closed cabin with a wraparound windscreen that transitioned into ‘blades’ or ‘strakes’ that trailed back along the rear deck, flanking the opening for the engine. The front mask got a very light refresh, with a different set of ventilator intakes below the headlights.

The colours seemed to reflect the sunnier disposition. A red exterior (a wink at Ferrari?) and a warm tan-and-red interior contrasted the blue interior of the coupé.

An exterior refresh and more power characterised the W12 Nardó

W12 Nardó (2001)

Volkswagen was not at the end of its experiments with the W12 yet. Once again, in 2001, at the Tokyo Motor Show, Volkswagen introduced the third and final phase of its W12 series.

Once again a coupé in a screaming orange colourway with virtually the same dimensions as the previous two, the third version, or Nardó as it has become known, did contain some important refreshes. The front fascia and headlights were mildly changed, and the tail lights were more delicate circles rather than the strong graphic of the previous flat square lights.

The glass hatch and spoiler assembly (the spoiler raised automatically at 120 km/h) were also slightly different. The interior was more or less the same, although once again with a new, bolder colourway.

Pleasure dome: If you’re going to spend 24 hours racing in a big circle, it’s nice to have a view. Contoured leather seats are nice too

The principal difference was a larger W12 engine with one-third more horsepower. Also, given its record-setting long-distance runs, the engine had clearly been redesigned for endurance at high speed.

Nardó Ring – site of multiple records by Porsche, Mercedes-Benz and VW

In February 2002 (although some sources place the record run in October 2001), at the Nardó Ring in southern Italy, the W12 ran for 24 hours straight, traveling 7749 kilometres (4815 miles) at an average speed of 200.6 mph (322.8km/h). According to a VW press release, this was fast enough to break five world records, twelve class records, and the world 24-hour speed record – a benchmark which had been set only four months earlier.

The success and popularity of the W12 cars, especially the Nardó, led Volkswagen to consider producing at least a limited edition of the car… but the program was cancelled as Volkswagen moved to acquire both Bugatti and Lamborghini in the following years.

A W12 engine powering a Volkswagen Phaeton

The W12 engine lived on in various forms, used by the Phaeton and Touareg, and by Audi (in the A8) and Bentley. It would also form the basis of the Bugatti W16 engine seen in the Veyron, Chiron and the new Divo.

The W12 concepts live on in the virtual world

The W12, like many supercar concepts, also lives on in the virtual world, in games such as the Gran Turismo series, GTI Racing, and Test Drive series, among others.

The W12 series has been described by some critics as the beginning of the supercar era at Volkswagen group, although at least some credit should also be given to the Audi Avus. Still, the records set at Nardó seemed to awaken the Volkswagen Group to the possibilities of high performance and design exclusivity wearing an iconic VW badge.

That honour, however, would ultimately go to VW Group brands Bugatti and Bentley.

Bugatti Veyron – spiritual successor to the W12 Nardó?

Looking ahead in our time, could we see Volkswagen try again for such premium performance in a new, electric, and possibly autonomous, era?

Time will tell…

Video of the Syncro:

Technical Specifications

THE RECORDS at NARDÓ

24 hours: 322.891 km/h
6 hours: 325.584 km/h
12 hours: 324.876 km/h
1000 miles: 325.863 km/h
5000 miles: 323.039 km/h
5000 km: 324.850 km/h
1 hour: 328.16 km/h
100 km: 322.464 km/h
100 miles: 325.593 km/h
500 km: 324.672 km/h
500 miles: 327.39 km/h
1000 km: 325.28 km/h

Dimensions

Note : all three cars are similar in physical dimensions.

Rated Power and Engine capacity vary

• Length: 4400 mm
• Width: 1920 mm
• Height: 1100 mm
• Wheelbase: 2530 mm
• Front track: 1620 mm
• Rear track: 1600 mm
• Front overhang: 1000 mm
• Rear overhang: 870 mm
• Engine position: mid, longitudinal
• Layout: four-wheel drive
• Engine: 5.6 litres (341.7 cu in) W12
  [6 litres -Nardó]

• Rated power: 309 kilowatts (420 PS; 414 bhp)
  440 kilowatts (600 Bhp) - Nardó