A W16 is a 16-cylinder piston engine in a W configuration. All W16 engnies consist of four banks of four cylinders (two juxtaposed V8 engine blocks), coupled to a single crankshaft.
Volkswagen Group currently produces W16s, based on two of its W8 engines which are based on technology from the narrow-angle VR6 engine. The narrow angle of each set of cylinders allows just two camshafts to drive each pair of banks, so just four are needed in total. Note that this design differs from the W18 that Volkswagen produced for its Bugatti concept cars of 1998 and 1999.
The VW W16 is used in the Bugatti Veyron 16.4, expected to ship to its first customers in 2005.
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