A W12 engine is a twelve-cylinder piston engine where either three banks of four cylinders, or four banks of three cylinders are arranged in a W configuration around a common crankshaft.W12 engines with three banks of four cylinders were used by several aircraft engines from 1917 until the 1930s. A three-bank design was also used for an unsuccessful W12 engine which was intended to compete in Formula One in 1990.