V12 engine for the postwar market in Europe, production of V12-engined-cars was very limited until the 1960s. Ferrari has traditionally reserved their top V12 engine for their top-of-the line luxury sports coupes since 1949. Ferrari's closest rival, Lamborghini has also used the V12 configuration for many of its road cars since the company's inception in 1963. In 1972, Jaguar introduced the XJ12, equipped with a 5.3 litre V12, which continued (after revisions in 1993) until the 1996 model year, after which the marque discontinued the twelve-cylinder engine. BMW returned to V12 designs for its 7 Series sedan in model year 1986, forcing
V12 engine Léon Levavasseur, building on experience gained with in-line four-cylinder engines. In 1904, the Putney Motor Works completed a new V12 marine racing engine—the first V12 engine produced for any purpose. Known as the "Craig-Dörwald" engine after Putney's founding partners, the engine mounted pairs of L-head cylinders at a 90 degree included angle on an aluminium crankcase, using the same cylinder pairs that powered the company's standard two-cylinder car. A single camshaft mounted in the central V operated the valves directly. As in many marine engines, the camshaft could be slid longitudinally to engage a second set of cams, giving valve