It appears that Mercedes is not letting go of its flagship twelve-cylinder engine without a fight. At the IAA Mobility 2025 show in Munich earlier this month, the German automaker made it official: the V12 will remain in production until at least 2030. That announcement comes as most luxury automakers, including Mercedes themseves, continue to scale back combustion engines to meet tougher emissions rules. However, Mercedes has decided that one of the remaining few V12s worldwide will still wear a three-pointed star, as confirmed in a recent interview with Autocar U.K.
If we look back at Mercedes’s history with the V12 and sedans in particular, it stretches back over three decades to 1991, when the W140 S-Class introduced the 6.0-liter M120. Later families such as the (M275), its (M285) offshoot, and the updated (M279) powered models like the Maybach 57 and 62, the AMG S 65, CL 65 coupe, SL 65 Black, and G 65, as well as later Maybach S-Class flagships. For decades, then, the signature V12 has been the pinnacle of the lineup, a clear marker of ultimate luxury and prestige.
Today, the only Mercedes model with a V12 is the Maybach S 680. Under the hood sits a 6.0-liter twin-turbocharged V12 with 621 horsepower and 664 pound-feet of torque, paired with 4MATIC all-wheel drive. In the U.S., it carries a sticker price of $244,400, making it one of the most attainable new twelve-cylinder sedans on sale.
Compare that to a Rolls-Royce Ghost, which starts at roughly $350,000, or a Bentley Flying Spur Speed W12, which pushes closer to $300,000 before options and at that level, the Maybach’s price almost looks restrained, even though it still delivers the refinement and exclusivity that you expect from a V12 flagship. Now, fully optioned versions can approach $290,000, but that remains well below the multimillion-dollar hypercars that also carry twelve cylinders.
Mercedes-AMG, of course famously also supplies the V12 engine to Pagani, keeping the tooling alive for boutique supercar makers. Better still, in the Pagani, that V12 pairs with a manual transmission, an extremely niche format intself.
But the real challenge about the future of the 12-cylinder powerplant has to do with regulation. Europe’s Euro 7 rules take effect in late 2026, and Mercedes has yet to say how the V12 will comply. The European Commission has advanced its review of the 2035 zero-emissions target to the end of 2025, which will decide whether Europe sticks to its plan of ending sales of internal combustion cars.
Presently, EV adoption across the EU remains lower than expected. Proposals under discussion include a new category for small, affordable EVs and recognition of carbon-neutral fuels like e-fuel and biofuels, which could allow combustion engines, including hybrids and plug-ins, to remain part of the mix. For a company like Mercedes-Benz, that regulatory uncertainty could determine whether its V12 survives in Europe beyond 2030 or becomes restricted to regions like U.S., Middle East, and China.
While Markus Schäfer, CTO, did tell Autocar that the engine will remain in production, he didn’t share specifics on displacement changes, hybrid integration, or emissions fixes. So the most likely solution is some form of electrification, either a mild-hybrid or plug-in system, to extend the lifespan of the engine while improving efficiency.
Bugatti, for instance retired the Piëch-era W16 that did duty in the Veyron and Chiron, and has found a way to keep a sixteen-cylinder alive in the new V16-Tourbillon thanks to electrification and Rimac’s engineering input. Mercedes’s approach to the V12 could be similar: find a way to modernize without losing the aura of a powerplant that has defined the top tier of luxury for decades.
Images: Mercedes-Benz
