Nissan and Renault have just taken the wraps of their jointly-developed all new 3.0 litre V6 turbo-diesel engine, set to begin appearing under the bonnets of Nissan and Renault models in 2010.

The new donk, with173kW and 450Nm, should be a belter. Besides those very appealing numbers, it features all the usual modern diesel technologies such as a 23,000 psi common-rail injection system, exhaust gas recirculation and a particulate filter.

Nissan and Renault split the development costs 50/50 but it appears Nissan will benefit from the engine more, at least initially, with various Infiniti models and the US Maxima already set to receive the fruits of their joint labour. Renault, for now, has only opted to shoehorn the new mill into its Laguna coupe.

The addition of the new engine to each company’s line-up should allow them to take the game up to the competition. Nissan especially has been a bit behind the 8-ball in terms of diesel options across its range of passenger vehicles.

Fuel consumption figures have not been officially confirmed but reports suggest that 8.0 l/100km for highway driving is in the ballpark.

Hit the gallery for a few more images and be sure to check out the video below, it features some great CGI work showing the engine’s internals.

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