AMG To Sell Hi-Po Diesel Model "Within Three Years"

AMG boss Volker Mornhinweg has announced that the Mercedes-backed tuning company will release a diesel-engined high performance model by 2011.

The oil-burning sports car will most likely be based upon the C320 CDI, whose 3.0-litre V6 already cranks out a handy 165kW and 510Nm. Mornhinweg made no mention of just what AMG had in store for the diesel Merc, but he did describe it as being the spiritual successor to the AMG Hammer of the 1980s: an E-class sedan with a 5.6-litre twin-cam petrol V8 that could race to 100kph in just 5.4-seconds.

With consumers gradually warming to the idea of diesel-engined performance cars and the rising cost of petrol encouraging drivers to switch to the sooty stuff, AMG's decision to create a new diesel model makes sound commercial sense. If the AMG diesel proves successful it would be no surprise to see other cars in M-B's lineup getting the same treatment. But what do you, the enthusiast, say? Should AMG stick to the stonk-tastic V8s that it knows so well, or is about time that automakers and tuning houses moved away from petrol-powered hedonism?

[Autocar]