The Packard Twin Six became the first production automobile with a V12 engine when it was introduced in 1915.
Packard developed the Twin Six as a luxury car powered by a 6.9-liter V12 engine. Its name referred to the engine’s two banks of six cylinders, rather than to two separate engines. The design produced unusually smooth power for its era and helped establish the V12 as a prestigious configuration.
The Twin Six was offered in several body styles and was positioned above Packard’s six-cylinder models. Packard later revived the Twin Six name for a redesigned V12 model in the early 1920s, which can cause confusion with the original 1915 car.
Other famous early V12 automobiles followed, including the 1916 BMW-powered aircraft-engine projects and Cadillac’s V-12 and V-16 luxury cars. However, Cadillac’s V-16 arrived later, in 1930, so it was not the first production V12 car.