N 1997, WHILE RIDING THE BULLET TRAIN from Tokyo to Nagoya, hawk-faced VAG engineering maven Ferdinand Piëch had an idea: what if you combined two VR6 motors to create a W12? In fact, he foresaw a whole range of W-engines and, it’s safe to presume, no one dared to contradict him. The usefulness of these engines varied. The W8 was pointless since it cost a Scheisse tonne to develop and was used only in an unpopular Passat. The W16 made more sense because it gave Bugatti bragging rights and
