For the first time a BMW M car will be equipped with a diesel engine. Actually, there will be 4 cars that will have the joy of seeing a diesel engine installed. The cars in question are the M550d xDrive sedan, M550d xDrive touring, X5 M50d and X6 M50d, all of which have the benefit of all wheel drive.
BMW X5 M50d
The official unveiling of these cars will take place at the Geneva Auto Show, two months from now, in March. All of these cars will have the same engine fitted, a 3 liter six cylinder tri-turbocharger diesel engine.
This little beauty was created especially for the M badge. The inline configured engine features 4 valves per cylinder, and is the first ever engine developed by BMW to adopt an induction system with 3 turbochargers with variable geometry. Furthermore, a common-rail injection system works hard to produce 376 horsepower at about 4,000 rpm together with a torque of 545 lb-ft coming in between 2,000 and 3,000 rpm.
BMW X5 M50d
The current 3 liter twin-turbocharged engine BMW has is rated with 80 horsepower and 103 lb-ft lower than this latest edition. The former is found on the 535d sedan and 535d. The X5 40d and X6 40d also have the same engine, but, in their cases, 74 horses are what separates them from their successors. These are the models that will be placed directly under the new the M550d xDrive sedan, M550d xDrive touring, X5 M50d and X6 M50d.
BMW X5 M50d
Next, mated with the new engine and the xDrive AWD system is a standard eight-speed automatic gearbox. According to officials, the M550d xDrive sedan is believed to reach 0-62 mpg in 4.7 seconds. For comparison, the latest and greatest M5 is just 0.3 seconds faster and has a 4.4 liter V8 gasoline engine.
BMW X5 M50d
BMW X5 M50d
Another jaw dropping performance claimed by BMW is the fuel efficiency of the M550d xDrive, especially considering the 4,178 pounds curb weight. For every 100 km travelled 6.3 liters (37.3 mpg) of fuel are consumed, on a European cycle at least.
Other features included on all of the M cars are brake regeneration, auto start/stop function, as well as selective operation of the oil pump, water pump and air-conditioning compressor.
BMW X5 M50d
The other M cars, the M550d xDrive, X5 M50d and X6 M50d, have a 62 mph time limit breaker of 4.9, 5.4, and 5.3 seconds. Maximum speed is limited at 155 mph. Fuel efficiency levels are also quite remarkable for the 3 models, as well: 6.4 liters/100 km (36.7 mpg), 7.5 liters/100 km (31.3 mpg) and 7.7 liters/100 km (30.5 mpg). Again, these figures apply only for Europe.
The M550d xDrive sedan, M550d xDrive touring and X5 M50d will get to see 19 inch wheels, and the X6 M50d will benefit from 20 inch ones.
The bad news is that America will not be able to enjoy the presence of these M diesels. The reason for that is that costs for the new engine to comply with SCR tech are too high, according to US officials.