The V12 Engine The Untold Story of Technology, Evolution, Performance and Impact of All

by Ludvigsen, Karl

• ISBN13: 9781844250042
• ISBN10: 1844250040
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-11-11
• Publisher: Haynes Publishing UK

Summary

With its highly readable text and stunning illustrations, this masterpiece of a book tells the story of the creation, evolution and exploitation of the V12 engine. From the big American V12s of the early 1900s to today's Aston Martin Vanquish V12, these glorious engines have been revered as more than just feats of engineering; in many cases they are respected as works of art. Here is an insightful, analytical and technical history of the V12 engines that have powered some of the most exciting and dramatic cars ever built for road or track.

Author Biography

Karl Ludvigsen has a distinguished record of accomplishment at senior levels throughout the worldwide motor industry. He has received wide recognition for his work as an editor, journalist, historian and author. Not only has he been employed at senior levels with Ford of Europe, Fiat North America, and General Motors, but he has also been involved in editorial roles with Motor Trend magazine, Auto Age, and Sports Car Illustrated and Car and Driver. Ludvigsen is in demand from the press of North America and Europe as a source of information on industry trends, and he is a frequent speaker at conferences. Currently, Ludvigsen acts as Chairman of Ludvigsen Associates Limited (a consulting company), Managing Director of Euromotor Reports Limited and Director of Ludvigsen Library Limited.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. 9
Origins	p. 12
The early debate over the number of cylinders an auto engine should have
Daimler's vee-twin and its connecting-rod layout
side-by-side rods, link rods and fork-and-blade rods
developments in other fields, marine and aviation, with up to 24 cylinders
the first-ever V12 of 1904, made in Britain for marine racing
Sunbeam's Toodles V of 1913 is the first European V12 auto
Packard takes an interest
in 1908 George Schebler builds the first V12-powered car
American Twin Sixes	p. 26
Duesenberg and Miller build V12 aero engines
Buick and Hudson assess twelves
Packard sets the pace, first with aero engines and then in 1915 with its spectacular and dramatic Twin Six
many others follow quickly: National, Enger, Haynes and Pathfinder, the last using the Weidely V12, as did HAL, Austin, Meyer, Kissel, Singer, Ambassador, Meteor and Heine-Velox
European Twelves	p. 50
Exploration of twelves by Lorraine-Dietrich, Lancia, Fiat and Voisin
Sunbeam's spectacular twelves
The 350 hp that Malcolm Campbell used to break the land speed record
4-litre Tiger and Tigresse, LSR success for Segrave
Delage's 10.7-litre DH record-breaker
its magnificent Grand Prix 2-liter of 1925
Cappa's bizarre design for Itala, the smallest V12 ever
Fiat's Type 806 U12 of 1927
Aero Speed	p. 74
Napier's W12 Lion from World War 1 powers Golden Arrow, Campbell's Blue Bird and Cobb's Railtons, one for his track car and two for his land-speed-record breaker
Australia's 'Wizard' Smith
America's Liberty V12 and successful LSR cars Babs and Triplex
the '1,000 horsepower' Sunbeam with its twin aero engines for Segrave
Sunbeam's disastrous Silver Bullet
R-Type Rolls-Royce used by Campbell in Blue Bird and (two of them) by Eyston's Thunderbolt
Rolls-Royce Kestrel in Eyston's Speed of the Wind
Curtiss Conqueror the choice of long-distance record-breaker Ab Jenkins
Porsche-designed Type 80 for Mercedes-Benz
Classic-Era Americans	p. 106
Late 1920s and early 1930s see explosion of twelves in America's classic-car era
Cadillac pioneers, followed by air-cooled Franklin
Packard returns to the fray with a race-bred V12
Lincoln's KB and KA twelves
Buffalo's Pierce-Arrow builds America's biggest twelve of this era
extraordinary Cord E-1 provides the basis for Auburn's ultra-affordable Lycoming-built V12
Howard Marmon and his HCM prototype
British and French Classics	p. 128
Eminent European auto companies embrace the twelve
Laurence Pomeroy at Daimler produces no less than five different series, all with sleeve valves save the last
Rolls-Royce produces its most controversial model ever, the Phantom III
Walter Bentley designs a V12 for Lagonda and races it at Le Mans
Gabriel Voisin returns in 1929 with sleeve-valve twelves
Lorraine-Dietrich is heard from
Hispano-Suiza caps the era with by far the biggest twelve of the times
Teutonic Twelves	p. 150
Germanic nations were not left behind
Ledwink's T80 for Tatra
other Czech twelves by Walter and Graf & Stift
Horch and its ambitious V12 patterned after American examples
Maybach builds one of Europe's most elaborate twelves without regard to cost
just before the war Mercedes-Benz launches V12 prototypes
Racers in America	p. 170
Auburn's V12 Speedster sets records on the dry lakes
Ab Jenkins and Pierce Arrow get together to break speed records at Bonneville
evolution of the Ab Jenkins Special
Charles Voelker's V12 is launched at Indy in 1937
Voelker engine competes at the Speedway twice and is still trying to qualify in 1953
Grand Prix Glories	p. 180
V12s come into their own in racing in the 1930s
amazing record-breaker of Voisin
Alfa Romeo's Type A with two sixes side by side
Alfa Romeo's 12C-36 Grand Prix car and its successors through 1939
creation of an unblown sports-car version, the 412, in 1939
Alfa Romeo's S10 V12 road-car prototypes
12-cylinder Mercedes record-breakers and Avus racers powered by the big DAB engine
successful 1938-39 Grand Prix twelves of both Auto Union and Mercedes-Benz
Auto Union's designs for a 1 1/2-litre E-Type V12
Lago Talbot's V12 plans by Walter Becchia
Louis Delage's V12 sports-racer of 1937
Delahaye's Type 145 twelve and winning 'The Million' at Montlhery
monoposto edition a flop
Delahaye Type 165 production version
Post-War Potency	p. 216
Aero engines in cars again
Rolls-Royce Kestrel in Flying Triangle, Merlin in Swandean Spitfire Special, Meteor in 2003 Thunderbolt that broke British records at Millbrook
America's Allison V12 is taken up by many
Jim Lytle puts one in a BMW Isetta and four in a Fiat Topolino
Art Arfons starts a record-breaking career with Allisons
Athol Graham's 300+ mph at Bonneville
Enzo Ferrari builds twelves
Colombo's 125, 159, 166 and four-cam 125F1 engines
Mercedes-Benz plans a 1 1/2-litre V12, its M195
Auto Union engineers build the 2-liter 'Sokol' Type 650
Ferrari's big twelves, the 375 and 340 America
Gordini and OSCA collaborate on the design of their Type G 4 1/2-litre V12
Lagonda's disappointing DP100 V12
Ferrari's big twelves: 375MM, 375 America, 290MM and 315S through 1957
smaller Ferrari series: 212, 250MM, 250GT, 250TR, GTO
4-litre Ferrari Type 209, 400 Superamerica and 330P2
Giulio Alfieri's Maserati V12 in Grand Prix cars in 1957-58, 350S sports-racer, mid-engined Type 63 & 64
Competition Ambitions	p. 244
Two V12s built for the 1 1/2-litre Formula 1, one by Maserati and one, which races, Honda's RA271E
Ferrari's four-cam sports-racers from the 330 P4
stillborn twelves: Abarth's Type 240 and Moteur Moderne's engine
with the 3-litre Formula 1 in 1966, an eruption of vee-twelves
Ferrari 312F1-66, V12s through 1969, 312P prototype
big-twelve Ferrari family with 612P, 512P and 512S
Coooper-Maserati engines, Types 9 and 10
BRM P101, P142, twelves through 1977
AAR's Eagle-Weslake V12
Harry Weslake's own WRP-190 twelve and its travails
BRM P351 sports-racer engine broadly derived from it
Matra's shrieking V12s in both GP cars and sports-racers, MS9, MS12
Autodelta's V12 for Brabham, Alfa's own car and engines for Osella
Honda's RA273E Grand Prix engine and Nissan's sports-racing R382
Engines for the Elite	p. 284
Lincoln's Zephyr V12 is a link between luxury cars pre-war and port-war
insights into its troubled reputation
it does well in Britain in Allard, Brough, Atalanta and Jensen models
Packard considers relaunching a V12
Bugatti designs a V12, its Type 451, but the company folds before it can mature
GM's Cadillac develops a V12 in the early 1960s but decides against production
two dreamers, Franco Romanelli in Canada and Alejandro de Tomaso in Italy, show twelves but don't produce them
Ferrari's luxury models from 365GT to 275GTB/4, 365GTB/4 Daytona, 365GTC4, 400I and 412
newcomer Lamborghini decides on a twelve
350GT, Miura, Islero, Countach and four-valve version
Cat, Roundel and Star	p. 308
As early as the 1950s Jaguar starts planning a V12
its four-cam racing version in the 1960s in the XJ13
insights into the gestation of the great Jaguar V12 by Heynes, Hassan, Mundy et al
its use in racing in USA and Europe, leading to victory at Le Mans
BMW begins studying V12s as a marriage of two of its fine sixes
experimental M70, M73 and M66 prototypes
introduction of M70 V12 in 1987, improved as M73 in 1994
BMW's activity spurred Mercedes-Benz engineers, who had been thinking of a V12, the M101, for their 600
new 'KOMO' prototype of 1985
using six-cylinder components to create the M120 of 1991
employed in Pagani's Zonda
Racing the M120 in AMG's CLK-GTR of 1997
Formula Twelves	p. 336
After the banning of turbos and the setting of a 3 1/2-litre limit, Formula 1 exploded with 12-cylinder engines
designs for GM by Scott Russell
Motori Moderni's efforts
Austrian NeoTech engine for Walter Brun
designs from HKS, Nissan and Isuzu in Japan, their tests and problems
Paul Rosche's BMW studies including a six-cam 60-valve twelve
Porsche's catastrophic Type 3512 for Footwork Arrows
unraced twelves of Renault and Cosworth
the W12 idea is revived by Harry Mundy for his Trident, Guy Negre's MGN and Franco Rocchi's Life engine
Yamaha's entry, evolving into its OX99 road car, built in Britain
Honda's RA121E and successor RA122E/B
Lamborghini's 3512 V12 powers several teams including its own
Ferrari's Grand Prix V12s from 1989 through 1995
derived from them, F50 and F333SP engines
American and German Luxury	p. 372
Comedian Jay Leno's 29.4 litre Patton tank V12-powered hot rod
Detroiter Cyril Batten's engines machined from scratch
Ryan Falconer's successful Chevrolet-derived V12s
their use in a prototype for a planned Packard revival
Cadillac's XV12 programme and its use in the mid-engined Cien
Mazda's V12 plans for its Amati range
Toyota introduces a V12 for its Japan-only Century prestige model
relationship between the new turbocharged Maybach V12 and the 3-valve Mercedes-Benz M137 twelve
AMG super-powered versions and an AMG engine for Chrysler's mid-engined ME Four-Twelve
BMW's twelves for the McLaren F1 and its P74 for a Le Mans winner
2002 introduction of new N73 BMW twelve and its use as basis of engine for new Rolls-Royce Phantom
inside story of creation of VW's family of W12 engines
its use in record-breaking 'W12' sports car, Phaeton. Audi A8, Bentley Continental GT
Peugeot's '907' concept car of 2004
Ultimate Sports-Car Power	p. 392
At Ford, engineer Jim Clark builds V12s
they power Ford's GT90 and Indigo concept cars
Aston Martin discovers them when looking for a new engine
creation of the Aston engines and their evolution to suit new models
TVR's Speed Twelve on a fabricated steel crankcase
Al Melling's engine design for a Lola GT car project
Monte Carlo's MCA Centenaire and its various twelves
Paolo Stanzani's amazing design for Bugatti's EB110
new generation of big twelves for Lamborghini's cars, inspired by its sport-utility for Saudi Arabia
Ferrari's F116 and F133A evolution in its 456GT, 550 Maranello and 612 Scaglietti
new-generation F140 V12 introduced in Enzo in 2002 to be basis of future Ferrari twelves
F140 also powers Maserati's MC12, stunning new road and race car of 2004
V12 Firing Orders	p. 410
Index	p. 415
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