Diesel versus Gasoline

[SoTxPollock]

They did it again. The Audi team won the Seabring 12 hour race with a diesel again. Thats two back to back wins. I can only imagine how it feels to have 859 ft. lbs. of torque in a 1700 lb car.

[Prestonia24]

The Audi R10 powerplant is an awesome machine at that... I'd love to be able to afford a 200X Q7 with the New TDI powerplant (based on the R10's V12), as it'll get 0-60 near 5.5sec, and still get 20mpg (city).

Now if I can only find 75k to spend on another Diesel...

Audi R10: A Diesel Winner at Le Mans?

Twin overhead camshafts operate four valves per cylinder, and the common rail direct injection specially developed by Bosch is capable of producing injection pressures that, according to Audi, "far exceed" the 23,200 psi of the current production systems. With the maximum boost pressure of 42.6 psi absolute and the twin 39.9-mm-diameter air restrictors allowed by the regulations, the engine develops more than 650 bhp and a huge maximum torque of more than 811 lb.-ft.

I was also reading that one of the things that contributed to the success at Le Mans was the fact that since the Diesel wasn't running at 8000 rpm all day (like the other cars) due to the higher power @ lower rpm, they weren't burning as much fuel as all the other cars, not to mention they had more power per pound than anyone else, and Certainly didn't have to stop as often for fuel...





Audi Q7 V12

Audi’s Q7 will soon have the option of a V-12 diesel, the first in a passenger car. Not to be outdone by its little brother, the VW Touareg, which has a 310-hp, V-10 diesel, the Q7’s 5.9-liter V-12 makes a massive 500 horsepower and 738 pound-feet of torque...

Q7s in Europe already have a 233-hp, 3.0-liter V-6 diesel option, and that powerplant is rumored to make an appearance in the U.S. in 2007. However, Audi says there are no plans to bring the V-12 diesel here any time soon.

Honestly? Do the Economically Minded, Eco Conscious Europeans really know what they'll do with 500hp? I know what i'll do with it lol.... AWD Burnouts!
Guess that means I'll just have to cross the Atlantic to get one, and bring it back...

[More Power]

Unfortunately, the racing associations are changing the rules to level the playing field - regarding fuel economy. They've already begun reducing the allowable fuel tank size in diesel equipped race cars to make fuel stops comparable to those of gas cars. Even at that, the diesel still competes very well. If they continue to win, I'd bet the rules will evolve to reduce hp/tq, or at least change the ratio of hp to tq. We'll see...

Jim