Saying farewell to Bentley's twelve-cylinder engine... in a parade of W12s

Goodwood was famously wet on Friday this year, and cancellation-inducingly windy on Saturday. But the Thursday was warm, so when I rolled past the crowds by the holding area I had the window down. As I whispered past someone said "that's the new electric Bentley".

It isn't. It's a 12-cylinder petrol, with - by the way - precisely zero hybrid assistance. This is one of the very first Continental GTs Bentley sold, back in 2003.

I'm driving it up the hill leading a parade of other W12s – Continental GTs and GTCs of various ages, Flying Spurs, Bentaygas and a Batur – to mark the end of life of this remarkable engine. In sales numbers it's easily the most successful 12-cylinder post-war. (I'm amazed to find Lincoln sold 200,000 V12s pre-war, and there were about 170,000 27-litre Rolls-Royce Merlin aero engines.)

Behind me are all generations of Continental GT and GTC, Flying Spur saloons, and Bentayga SUVs. Plus what is in every significant sense the ultimate incarnation of this engine – the final, the most powerful, the most expensive, the most collectable – the new 750bhp Batur. We've also got the GT and Bentayga that tackled Pikes Peak, and the GTC that Juha Kankkunen drove to a record speed on ice: 199.86mph.

Any old how, I'm having flashbacks. The car I'm in is almost identical to the one I tested at launch all those years ago. I put it up against a Mercedes CL60 and it was both more sporting and more comfy.

Even today the cabin feels pretty luxurious even if the tech has dated. The hilariously slow-responding lo-res satnav screen even has a telly, with actual Teletext.

The engine isn't slow-witted. After doing a reasonable impersonation of an EV while gliding down to the start, it hardens the noise and starts to wake up its 560bhp. I've got the suspension in Sport mode and am reminded how modern this car still is. It's a handy sporty GT, even in our age.

Yup, today's V8 version is all that, and better and less thirsty, but the 12 is the one with the charisma that'll be remembered. Even when the electric Bentley starts going up the same hill.