BMW 5 Series M-tuned Diesel Confirmed: Report

The trend of performance-tuned diesels looks set to continue, with reports out of the US this week that BMW has confirmed a M-enhanced 5 Series diesel.

According to America's AOL network, the high-performance diesel will miss out on the hero M5 badge. While a name has not been confirmed, earlier leaks point to M550dX as one possible name.

Reports elsewhere suggest that the M-tuned diesel will be based on the current six-cylinder 3.0 litre diesel, with a host of modifications and a unique cylinder head to be joined by a triple-turbo arrangement.

The diesel's output is unknown, but a number just shy of the M5's 415kW is expected.

American website The Detroit Bureau claims that BMW insiders have also confirmed an all-wheel-drive configuration to spread the big diesel's torque - expected to read somewhere north of 800Nm. The 'regular' M5, by comparison, produces 680Nm of torque.

“You have to go to all-wheel-drive,” a BMW source is quoted as saying, “otherwise you’ll be spinning your tires all day.”

The new engine is also expected to feature in future high-performance versions of the X5 and X6 SUVs, both of which already feature a petrol-powered M model in their respective line-ups.

[via Autoblog, The Detroit Bureau]