Diesel cars were once seen as slow sedans with engines that left a cloud of black smoke belching from their exhausts. However, today some diesels are even finding their way into sports cars.
In recent years, the problems linked to the performance of diesels were solved with turboloaders and direct injection technology. But when it comes to sports cars they are nearly always fitted with a petrol engine.
Audi presented a diesel for the Q7 with a “sports car” output of 368 kW/500 hp, two turboloaders and 12 cylinders at the recent Paris Motor Show. The Q7 accelerates from zero to 100 km/h in only 5.5 seconds. The top speed is regulated at 250 km/h.
The V12 diesel motor will be available for the Q7 from next year, giving the SUV a decidedly sporty image. The know-how comes from motor racing and was translated into the development for the Q7 power unit. Earlier this year, Audi won the 24-hour Le Mans with a V12 R10 racing car producing 478 kW/650 hp and a top speed of 330 km/h.
Peugeot is also planning to enter a diesel racing car for next year’s Le Mans. The 908 RC concept study presented at the Paris Show has a V12 HDi engine with a performance of 515 kW/700 hp.
Several experts agree that it is only a matter of time before the ”monster diesel” finds its way into a roadgoing sports car. Audi could well use a diesel for its R8 sports car that was presented in Paris with a 309 kW/420 hp petrol motor.
An Audi spokesman in Paris denied such plans for the R8, but conceded that there were internal discussions on fitting the Audi TT sports car with a diesel power unit of at least 125 kW/170 hp.
The spokesman for the German division of Peugeot, Gordian Heindrichs, says the driveability and good fuel consumption of diesels made them worth offering in sports cars. The sports cars diesels were already very successful in the lower segment,.
Nevertheless, the established sports car makers are unimpressed. ”In our view, sports cars and diesel engines don’t go together,” says Albrecht Bamler, Porsche spokesman in Stuttgart, citing high production costs and heavy weight.
But Nick Margetts from the market observer company Jato Dynamics says these facts do not go against the diesel in sports cars.
“Sports car customers still have mental reservations in combining diesel technology with the sports car world,” he says.