Hyundai has announced details of its latest engineering triumph - an all-new high-output range of turbodiesel engines, which promises to turn around the common perception of oil-burners as being heavy, unsophisticated lumps of economy-tuned iron.

The R-Engine comes in two flavours: 2.0-litre and 2.2-litre, with both being all-alloy 16-valve inline-fours. Common-rail injection delivers fuel into those four pots, and variable geometry turbos extend the powerband. The end result is 135kW and 392Nm of torque for the 2.0-litre, while the 2.2-litre motor gets 147kW and 436Nm.

While the power outputs may not impress all you jaded sports car junkies out there, those are some hefty torque figures and should endow whatever Hyundai plonks this engine into with real go. With its all-alloy construction and plastic inlet manifold, rocker covers and oil filter housing, the R-Engine is also much lighter than traditional iron-blocked diesels. Hyundai has also reportedly put a lot of effort into eliminating the trademark diesel clatter of these new donks.

The R-Engine is set to enter production in 2009, with the first recipients being Hyundai’s large sedan and SUV range.