Mercedes-Benz has a long and proud history of creating some amazing V12 engines, but had things gone a little differently in the 1990s, it may have actually started using a W18. Yes, an engine with eighteen cylinders, or two more than the Bugatti Chiron…
At the time, Mercedes was producing the W140-generation S-Class and was looking to make a new flagship variant, with engineers initially coming up with the idea of an 8.0-liter W18. That engine was known as the M 216, yet never progressed past the blueprint stage.
To make such a massive engine fit beneath the hood of the S-Class, Mercedes used a W shape with three banks of six-cylinders joined together at an angle of 75.5 degrees each. The result was an engine that was no longer than a traditional inline six-cylinder and could have actually shared many parts with six-cylinder engines of the day.
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Mercedes-Benz thought about offering the engine in two different S-Class variants, each with its own power figures. The entry-level model would have been known as the 800 SEL, according to Autobild, and could have pumped out 490 HP and 553 lb-ft (750 Nm) of torque. An even more powerful variant with 680 HP and 590 lb-ft (800 Nm) would have topped the range.
While it would have been amazing to see an 8.0-liter W18 engine used in a production car, executives at Mercedes-Benz decided that the 6.0-liter V12 the company was also developing at the time fulfilled all requirements for both large sedans and sports cars.
