Many enthusiasts have been dismayed by BMW’s announcement of using diesel engines for its M-badged high-performance variants. Despite its successes in world endurance races as shown by Audi’s domineering diesel race cars, one cannot equate race-bred diesel engines and fuels with the more common everyday diesels found from econoboxes to big rig trucks. Economy, sure. High performance? Not at this point.
So it’s with a sigh of relief when we hear from AMG head Ola Källenius that diesels aren’t a consideration for Mercedes’ high performance cars. Staying committed to gasoline-powered drivetrains, Källenius went on to say that diesel engines can only compromise AMG’s lineup. Adding that petrol engines have the obvious benefits in terms of sound, weight, agility and response, he gave as an example AMG’s biturbo 5.5 liter unit, which while producing 560 horsepower, is highly efficient given its use of direct injection and forced induction.
