Mercedes-Benz M120 engine

The Mercedes-Benz M120 is a naturally aspirated V12 petrol engine used in the flagship Mercedes-Benz models of the 1990s and 2000s. It was built in Stuttgart as the answer to the BMW M70 V12, with Mercedes-Benz going from a 5 litre, 300 metric horsepower rival to a 6 litre unit of 300 kilowatts or 408 PS. It has an aluminium block lined with silicon and aluminium, aluminium DOHC cylinder heads with four valves per cylinder, sequential fuel injection and forged steel connecting rods. It powered the 600 SE and S 600 of the W140, the 600 SEC coupe and the 600 SL of the R129, and AMG enlarged it to 7.1 and 7.3 litres. Supercar makers used it too, notably the Pagani Zonda, and the M137 replaced it when new emission rules ended production.