BMW Innovates With New Hybrid Diesel Engines

When you think of ahybrid vehicle, you never think that one half of that setup could be a diesel engine, do you? But why not? Diesels are more efficient and produce more torque. Surely that plus the instant torque of an electric motor seems like the obvious way forward. We were even supposed to get a monstrous diesel hybrid version of theR8, butthat idea diedsome time ago. Well, the fact that we don't see many of them means it's not that simple. Still,that didn't stop Kia from doing iton the年代portage, and if it'sgood enough for the US Army, it's good enough for us. As it turns out, it's good enough for BMW too with the carmaker unveiling new straight-six diesel engines for the 7 Series that feature mild-hybrid tech.

The newBMW 7 Serieswill be offering "improved performance, higher torque, greater efficiency", according to the Bavarian carmaker. This comes as a result of adding a 48-volt mild hybrid system that, together with exhaust after treatment, makes the new engines compliant with Euro 6d emissions. The unit in the 730d - and it's all-wheel-drive and extended wheelbase variants - gets an increase of 20 horsepower and 22 lb-ft of torque for a total of 281 hp and 479 lb-ft. The six-cylinder in the 740d models gains the same power increase for a total of 335 hp while torque increases by 14 lb-ft to 516. This is done while also reducing fuel consumption, according to BMW.