BMW is celebrating the 30th anniversary of offering diesel engines.
Today the diesel engines have become a common trend, especially in Europe, but many people regarded them as loud and dirty back in the era of 80’s. BMW sought to change this, in part because of the lasting sting of the 1970’s oil crisis.
When it came to developing the engine, the company decided it had to combine fuel efficiency and durability as well as high performance, spontaneous power delivery and optimum smoothness. To provide such classic combination, the engineers at BMW created a turbocharged 2.4-liter engine that was able to produce 115 HP (85 kW) and 210 Nm (155 lb-ft) of torque.
This first diesel engine was fitted to the 1983 524 tD which instantly became the fastest diesel model in the world at that time for the simple reason that it could accelerate from 0-100 kmph (0-62 mph) in 12.9 seconds and could hit a top speed of 180 kmph (112 mph). If we talk about the fuel economy at that time, the model averaged 7.1 L/100km (33.1 mpg US / 39.7 mpg UK).
The rest, we all know, is history as BMW continued to develop their diesel engines into the tri-turbo beasts the power the M550d currently.
