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Diesel
Honda shows next-generation diesel engine
By Mike Hanlon
October 2, 2006 Honda has developed a next-generation diesel engine that reduces exhaust gas emissions to a level equal to a petrol engine and expects to have the engine available in its U.S. market cars within three years. The engine employs an NOx catalytic converter that enables a reduction in NOx emissions sufficient to meet stringent U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Tier II Bin 5 emission requirements. This catalytic converter uses the reductive reaction of ammonia generated within the catalytic converter to “detoxify” nitrogen oxide (NOx) by turning it into harmless nitrogen (N2). Read More
Subaru develops horizontally opposed Turbo Diesel engine
By Mike Hanlon
September 29, 2006 Subaru Europe President Hiroyuki Ikeda dropped an unexpected announcement in his Paris motor show speech when he mentioned that the company was working on a SubaruBoxer Turbo Diesel and that development is nearly complete. The horizontally opposed engine layout made famous by Volkswagen has long been favoured by Subaru and has been the mainstay of its fleet for more than three decades with its latest effort winning first place in the 2.5-liter class of the International Engine of the Year Awards. Though it’s logical that the company would develop the world’s first horizontally opposed diesel engine, there are many technical difficulties to overcome, so it was by no means regarded as a given. Anyway, we have the drawings in high res and we suspect it’ll be a beauty. Read More
The Audi Q7 V12 TDI - the world’s most powerful diesel passenger car
By Mike Hanlon
September 15, 2006 Audi is set to debut the first twelve-cylinder diesel engine in a series passenger car. A six-litre V12 will be available in the Audi Q7 that is reminiscent of the engine featured in the all-conquering R10 Le Mans racing car and it catapults the driving performance of the Audi Q7 SUV into the echelons of top-class sports cars. The V12 TDI engine produces a colossal 500 PS and 1,000 Nm of torque giving the car a 0 to 100 km/h time of just 5.5 seconds, and an electronically governed top speed of 250 km/h. Maximum torque is available from just 1,750 rpm. The high-tech diesel engine, with the world’s first 2,000 bar Bosch Common Rail system, provides the high-performance Audi SUV with superior power reserves in any situation. The impressive sound of the new Audi is provided by the ultra-modern piezo-injection system. The V12 TDI transmits this power through a new six-speed tiptronic gearbox to the quattro permanent four-wheel drive system. Read More
Audi first to win international motorsport championship with a diesel engined sportscar
By Mike Hanlon
September 5, 2006 Congratulations to Audi on becoming the first car manufacturer to win an internationally recognised motor racing championship with a car powered by a diesel engine. Having made history by winning the Le Mans 24 Hours in June with its revolutionary Audi R10 TDI, Britain’s Allan McNish and Dindo Capello, of Italy, have added to the German manufacturer’s incredible 2006 success story to take the prestigious American Le Mans Series championship. That’s six starts and six wins so far and it’s a far cry from the until-recent perception of diesels as those rough-sounding, smelly, commercial vehicles that billow black smoke. Read More
JCB DIESELMAX pushes diesel record to 529 km/h … then 563km/h
By Mike Hanlon
August 25, 2006 Last Friday (August 18) , the JCB DIESELMAX broke the Bonneville record speed for diesel engines, setting a time of 317 mph. On Tuesday (August 22), the vehicle broke the FIA international land speed record for a diesel vehicle with 328.767 mph (529.099 kph) and beat the existing record by more than 100 mph. Returning to the Bonneville Salt Flats with its FIA sealed engines on Wednesday, things went even better. Running soon after daybreak driver Andy Green recorded 365.779mph (588.664kph) on his first run and 335.695mph (540.248kph) on his return, giving an average of 350.092mph (563.418kph). It was the third speed record achieved by the JCB DIESELMAX in only six days, and demonstrates the power and reliability of its Ricardo-developed engines. There’s a fascinating rundown on the technical development of the engines in PDF format available here. Read More
New V8 Diesel extends Range Rover Sport range
By Mike Hanlon
August 23, 2006 Since its debut in 2005, Land Rover’s most performance-oriented vehicle yet – dubbed a ‘sports tourer’ by the company – has been consistently in high demand, leading to waiting lists in many markets. Announced yesterday, a new and powerful, state-of-the-art TDV8 turbo diesel will become the fourth engine option for the Range Rover Sport, no doubt exacerbating the wait. With power and torque over 40 per cent greater than the TDV6 turbocharged diesel engine, but still achieving 25.5 mpg (11.1 litre/100 km) on combined fuel cycle, the new TDV8 is expected to extend the Range Rover Sport’s appeal still further. Read More
The Ecorider runs on diesel or homemade biodiesel
By Mike Hanlon
August 23, 2006 The Ecorider is a motorcycle like no other – for starters it’s a diesel, and hence a rare breed indeed. We only know of two other production diesel motorcycles, the Dutch Star Twin sports tourer and the military-only HDT, and they both have quite different roles to the Ecorider. Finally, it's not a motorcycle, or at least it isn't classified as one - it is classed under European Legislation as an ATV (Agricultural Type Vehicle) and in most countries (please check), you do not need a motorcycle licence to ride this vehicle. With rising demands on the Earth's vulnerable and finite resources, environmental concerns and increasing fuel costs, the Ecorider makes a lot of sense. It will deliver 120 mpg economy running on home-made biodiesel, and it is also deeply respectful of the environment as the wide tires offer a contact patch with just 2 PSI – given this equates to half the weight per square inch of the average human footfall, the bike actually does less damage than a human in the wilderness. Accordingly, the Ecorider’s reduced environmental impact is ideal for use in protected wilderness reserves, gardens, golf courses and other areas where ground damage needs to be minimal. Apart from being green, it’s also an ideal agricultural workhorse with a high and low ratio gearbox and a reverse gear. Throw in loads of rear wheel traction and a torquey diesel motor and the Ecorider offers an ideal platform for towing. It’s also VERY easy to ride and extremely forgiving, so it can be entrusted to novices and in the hands of an expert will go just about anywhere thanks to the 11 inch wide balloon tires. Extensive image library for this story. Read More
JCB DIESELMAX takes Bonneville Diesel Speed Record to 317mph
By Mike Hanlon
August 22, 2006 The international diesel land-speed record for diesel-powered vehicles moved a step closer last week as the JCB DIESELMAX broke the Bonneville Salt Flats course record with a measured-mile speed of 317mph. Having already achieved a recorded average speed over a measured mile of 308mph in the late afternoon of Thursday 17 August, the JCB DIESELMAX needed to complete a second run within a twenty four hour period at least matching this speed in order to take the record. On Friday, the second run was completed successfully achieving a speed of 325mph. The average speed of the two runs was thus recorded as 317.021mph, thus establishing the JCB DIESELMAX as the fastest-ever diesel over the Bonneville course. Read More
Audi triumphs with TDI diesel at Le Mans 24 hour
By Mike Hanlon
June 18, 2006 AUDI AG has written an important chapter in the history of motor racing with its historic triumph in the Le Mans 24 Hour race. The new Audi R10 TDI was the first diesel car to win arguably the toughest car race in the world. In front of a record crowd of 235,000 spectators, Frank Biela (Germany), Emanuele Pirro (Italy) and Marco Werner (Germany) clinched the sixth and most important Le Mans win for Audi so far. Dindo Capello (Italy), Tom Kristensen (Denmark) and Allan McNish (Scotland) also achieved a podium in finishing third overall. Read More
Peugeot unveils V12 HDi DPFS diesel motor
By Mike Hanlon
June 16 2006 A year ago this week, Peugeot announced its decision to take up a new technological challenge: to win the Le Mans 24 Hours race with a car powered by an HDi diesel engine. Though much of the potential thunder of winning in a diesel has been usurped by the already dominant perfrormanc eof the Audi disel race cars this year, Peugeot intends to use the race effort to showcase its brand values: reliability, dynamic performance, style illustrated by the feline lines and, finally, innovation expressed, amongst other means, by the use of environmentally friendly technology. The level of performance expected – more than 515kW (700 bhp) of power and a torque output greater than 1.200 Nm – is without precedent in a diesel engine and is a direct result of Peugeot’s current level of know-how in diesel technology, linked to the mechanical characteristics of the V12. Read More
Audi TDI diesel claims Le Mans pole
By Mike Hanlon
June 16, 2006 The Le Mans 24 Hour race will be held this weekend and as we’ve been suggesting for some time, there’s a big chance that the brutally fast Audi R10 TDI will create history becoming the first diesel to win the legendary event and marking a changing of the guard in motor-racing. We've previously reported on the development of the world's fastest diesel car and the R10's first big win at Sebring in March, but Just to make Le Mans even more worthwhile following, both 650-hp diesel Audi R10 TDI cars will start from the front row on Saturday at 1700 hrs French time, having qualified a whopping two seconds faster than any of the petrol-engined competitors. The race can be followed live on the internet. Read More
world’s highest specific power diesel engine for land speed record vehicle
By Mike Hanlon
April 22, 2006 The JCB DIESELMAX has been created to break the world land speed record for a diesel powered automobiles. JCB is aiming to set a new land speed record for diesel vehicles with a super sleek streamliner car to be driven by Wing Commander Andy Green, the fastest man on Earth. The record attempt will take place on the famous Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah during August 2006.The stunning, nine metre long JCB DIESELMAX car boasts twin 4-cylinder, 5-litre JCB444-LSR engines with the world’s highest specific power diesel engines used in any automobile application. With each delivering 750hp and 1500Nm torque, the engines are over five times the power of the production version and at 150hp/litre, they exceed even motorsports applications as the world’s highest specific power diesels. At the same time the engines retain excellent fuel efficiency and very low emissions through the use of advanced combustion control and diesel particulate filter technology. Read More
Microreactor for biodiesel production
By Mike Hanlon
April 21, 2006 Another wonderous enabling technology has been announced - a microreactor, about half the size of a credit card that produces biodiesel by combining alcohol and vegetable oil directly, greatly speeding and simplifying production compared to traditional methods. By stacking many of these microreactors in parallel, a device the size of a small suitcase could produce hundreds of thousands of gallons per year of biodiesel – enough to power several farms. The device could significantly reduce farmer dependence on mass-produced petroleum. "This is all about producing energy in such a way that it liberates people," said inventor and OSU Professor Goran Jovanovic. "Most people think large-scale, central production of energy is cheaper, because we've been raised with that paradigm. But distributed energy production means you can use local resources - farmers can produce all the energy they need from what they grow on their own farms." Jovanovic is seeking to partner in order to commercialize the technology. Read More
Peugeot debuts new 207, 207 Rcup sports concept car, and 307 CC Hybride diesel Hdi concept
By Mike Hanlon
February 16, 2006 At the 76th Geneva International Motor Show, the new Peugeot 207 will make its world premiere, and to emphasise the importance of 207, a stylish and sporty RCup concept model will be shown that is likely to be the design blueprint for a future Peugeot Sport competition programme. The 207 Rcup is powered by a naturally-aspirated 2.0-litre 16v petrol engine producing 280bhp at 8,500rpm, with a 6-speed sequential gearbox and 18 inch alloy wheels. Also to be shown in Geneva is the 307 CC Hybride HDi diesel technology demonstrator, like the 307 HDi hatchback unveiled by PSA Peugeot Citroen in January. Read More
BLUETEC: The Cleanest Diesel in the World
By Mike Hanlon
January 12, 2006 With the launch of the E 320 BLUETEC in the USA later this year, Mercedes-Benz will be offering the first series production car with BLUETEC diesel technology. The automotive manufacturer with the world's longest diesel tradition has modified specific aspects of the economical, powerful and robust 320 CDI engine, adding state-of-the-art emission-control technology to make it the cleanest diesel in the world. Mercedes-Benz has thus transformed the diesel engine into a clean and future-compatible system. The six-cylinder diesel engine combines V8 power with four-cylinder consumption: 155 kW/211 hp maximum output and 540 Nm maximum torque despite average fuel consumption of just 6.7 l/100 km or 35 mpg. BLUETEC technology is capable of producing the cleanest diesel vehicles in the world, and is more than capable of meeting the most stringent emissions regulations. Read More
Ford's diesel-electric hybrid Reflex Concept features solar panelling
By Mike Hanlon
January 8, 2006 Concept cars are designed to showcase technological capability and to test market opinion. As such, the Ford Reflex concept car shown to the media for the first time today scores maximum points on both counts. The subcompact-sized Reflex is a technological showcase with its advanced diesel-electric hybrid engine, a liberal sprinkling of solar panels and advanced safety features as inflatable safety belts. More importantly, the advanced diesel-electric hybrid engine and new-generation lithium-ion batteries help deliver up to 65 miles per gallon, offering guilt free performance. Read More
Citroen to reveal diesel hybrid C4
By Mike Hanlon
January 7, 2006 Citroen will reveal its C4 Diesel Electric hybrid on the 31 January 2006, previewing a production car that the French car maker has committed to have on sale by 2010 in response to a call this week by French President Jacques Chirac for car makers to have such cars on sale at affordable prices within ten years. Citroen believes that the Diesel Electric hybrid is a much more effective method to reduce fuel consumption and emissions than petrol engined hybrids, pointing out that existing pure diesel powered cars such as the Citroen C4 HDi, already offer better fuel consumption and lower emissions than many petrol hybrids without the performance and cost penalties. A Diesel Electric hybrid, believes Citroen, is the only way to make a significant advance over the existing benefits of diesel powered vehicles. Read More
The world's most powerful diesel car
By Mike Hanlon
December 14, 2005 The prospect of a diesel-engined racing car competing at the highest level became reality in Paris yesterday when Audi pulled the wraps off the new R10. The R8 it replaces has been dominant in its sphere of global sportscar racing and Audi has set itself a monumental challenge in attempting to maintain its winning form with a totally new 5.5-litre, 12-cylinder twin-turbo TDI engined racecar. Diesel engines are very different to those normally associated with car racing – they are quiet, economical, with broad mid-range torque. The R10’s usable power band apparently lies between 3,000 and 5,000 rpm, an unusually low rev range for a racing engine and one which needs far less gear changes – but hey, it’s a diesel and diesels have never been raced successfully against their petrol-engined cousins … but the Audi R10 produces over 650 hp and a colossal 1,100 Newton metres of torque and promises fascinating high tech gawking as the team prepares for its race debut at the Sebring 12 Hours (USA) in March. If Audi can pull off a win in the race for which its is built, the twice-around-the-clock Le Mans 24 Hour Race in France on June17-18, 2006, it will be a unique triumph ... and one which might mark the beginning of an exciting new ear for the once much maligned diesel. Read More
New technology turns petrol engines into low compression diesel!
By Mike Hanlon
October 3, 2005 It has been a sudden realisation - the world is running out of oil and the laws of supply and demand are set to make petrol prohibitively expensive in the very near future. Sonex Research has a new combustion technology that offers significantly better fuel consumption and greatly reduced emissions. The Sonex GDI Combustion System uses pistons modified to carry a chemical charge that initiates combustion from one cycle to the next, thus eliminating the need for spark plugs. High compression, typical of diesel engines, is no longer needed to make the fuel ignite; in fact, the chemistry causing this auto ignition process exists only at lower compression ratios. Thus, a low compression engine, typically used for burning gasoline, can be designed to burn either a lighter alcohol fuel like ethanol, or a heavier fuel like (bio)diesel when equipped with Sonex pistons, common rail direct injection system and associated electronic control system to control injection pressure and timing. The technology could well be first deployed powering UAVs for the military in Iraq. By James Bauernschmidt Read More
New IPO to convert waste plastic to low sulphur diesel
By Mike Hanlon
September 5, 2005 Current Australian IPO Axiom Energy Limited has an interesting proposition for potential investors – the company will produce low sulphur diesel from waste plastics that until now could not be recycled and would otherwise end up as landfill. Axiom also plans to be the largest producer of biodiesel on the Australian Eastern seaboard. Currently, 88 per cent of the 1.5 million tonnes of plastic consumed in Australia annually is sent to landfill, this amount could convert to more than 1 billion litres of low sulphur diesel. For example, a simple ice-cream container, weighing just 68 grams can be converted into a diesel fuel which will power a VW Golf car with a diesel engine for approximately one mile. Read More
The first Diesel Superbike: the Star Twin ThunderStar 1200 TDI
By Mike Hanlon
July 18, 2005 Our recent articles on The coming of the electric motorcycle and the Electric superbike brought a flurry of response from our readers pointing out that the diesel motorcycle was a far more viable alternative to the petrol-engined motorcycle than the electric bike at this point in time. indeed, our readers were quick to point to a number of prototype diesel sports motorcycles that look awesomely promising: bikes such as the Neander 1400 turbodiesel, the TrackDiesel One Litre TurbuDiesel, the Dieselfighter, the AVL Boost and the Dutch ThunderStar 1200 TDI diesel motorcycle - all of them motorcycles of immense potential and all of them readying themselves for market. In this the first of a series of articles on diesel motorcycles, we take a close look at the ThunderStar 1200 TDI - a sports motorcycle with a stronger midrange than Triumph's 2.3 litre Rocket III. Read More
The World's Only Production Diesel Motorcycle
By Mike Hanlon
July 18, 2005 The concept of a diesel motorcycle is not one that has occurred to a lot of people – at least not many have thought about it for long because despite a rich century of innovation in motorcycling, only a handful of diesel motorcycles have existed and until very recently, they have all been utility vehicles – bikes designed to get great economy on fuel of questionable quality in rugged and remote regions and said diesel two-wheelers had no performance pretensions. As we all know, diesel technology has come a long way in recent times and now the sans-sparkplug engine promises a renaissance thanks to its low emissions, good power output and low consumption ... and like so many aspects of technology, it was the muscle of the military dollar that brought the world's first modern production diesel motorcycle into being. Read More
Peugeot bravely announces it will win Le Mans with HDi Diesel Technology!
By Mike Hanlon
June 15, 2005 Peugeot has announced its intentions to win at the famous Le Mans 24 Hours race, in a diesel powered vehicle featuring Peugeot HDi technology. The vehicle, to be developed in 2006 will also be equipped with a diesel particulate filter system. When Peugeot announced its intention to withdraw from the World Rally Championship at the end of 2005 (it currently leads the manufacturers title), the company was determined to pursue its policy of competing at the highest level and decided on this innovative objective. The promotion of deisel as economical, low emmission and high performance is obviously in vogue at present as this announcement follows closely on Mercedes Benz’ remarkable 100,000 mile record using Mercedes E 320 CDI diesel vehicles and running them at 140 miles per hour for days to average 40mpg. Now what we need is an electric racing class. Read More
Mercedes-Benz Sprinter now also with diesel-electric hybrid drive
By Mike Hanlon
April 4, 2005 Mercedes-Benz has always been at the forefront of the development environment- and resource-friendly propulsion systems and has explored natural gas, LPG, electric propulsion and fuel cell technologies in recent times. This pioneering position will be further enhanced this year when it becomes the first manufacturer to offer a plug-in hybrid-drive version of its Sprinter commercial van. Plug-in means that the vehicle is equipped with a power socket which enables the batteries to be recharged even when the engine is not running, for example overnight. A hybrid-drive Sprinter with no recharging socket is also planned. Read More
Diesel/Electric Ford Transit Hytrans
By Mike Hanlon
February 17, 2005 - Visitors to the opening of the Green by Design exhibition at Gaydon Heritage Centre in Warwickshire UK got more than they expected on the weekend when they were among some of the first to see Ford's latest low carbon technology on display. The Ford Transit HyTrans is the first medium commercial vehicle in Europe featuring stop/start technology for greater fuel economy and reduced emissions. Read More
rob yates
- November 26, 2009 @ 12:49 UTC
