Diesel to fuel the future

In 1990, Britain had about three per cent of its vehicles running diesel engines, while today, the figure is closer to 20 per cent. While the numbers of diesel cars varies from country to country, as far back as 1995, France had some 28 per cent diesel cars on its roads, while Belgium recorded a staggering 39 per cent.

What are the reasons for this? Originally governments in Europe would offer large tax breaks for auto makers who made use of diesel technology, and today similar incentives are offered, but really, there's no need as demand is so strong in today's marketplace.

Another reason Europeans are going ga-ga over diesel-powered cars is the new and much more environmentally friendly bio-fuel, sometimes called bio-diesel. This stuff is made from all sorts of recylced materials, such as cooking oils, vegetable oils and animal fats. It's non-hazardous and biodegradable too.

In Australia, the idea that diesel engines are viable for commercial vehicles only is quite prominent. How often have you seen a diesel family car cruising down the highway?

This is all set to change following next year's introduction of reduced sulfur levels in diesel, to fall in line with the global benchmark. This will make the fuel more attractive to car buyers, but another aspect may help in converting the petrol heads (pun intended).

Lotus and Mercedes Benz have both stated that, for the first time, they will create diesel-powered performance cars. At first, this idea sounds a bit dim. Diesel-powered head-turners? Isn't that for tractors old Mercs? But perhaps in future, we will look back and argue that society was mad to adopt such a limited resource like petroluem. Either way, there is a revolution that's about to take place and though it will concentrate mainly on the European market, there's a good chance diesel could experience a boom Down Under, as well.

Lotus has released a few tidbits on its new Earth friendly sportscar, the Eco2S. This tiny car will make use of a 1.2-litre turbocharged diesel-electric powerplant hybrid. Now, it may sound a bit weak, but this little tacker is fast! With a total weight of just 730kg, the two-seater roadster has a top speed of roughly 220km/h and reaches 100km/h, from standstill, in just 6.2 seconds. Part of this rapid acceleration is due to the car's four-wheel drive transmission, but even so, we reckon it's damn impressive.

Mercedes is also very serious about fast and sexy-looking diesel-powered sportscars. So serious, in fact, that it is charging its performance car division, AMG, with the task of building it - engine and all.

The marque is extremely tight-lipped about the project at present, as such a vehicle has great potential in Europe, but also for Mercedes. It could open the floodgates for a new genre of car - the performance diesel car. We do know that the new AMG diesel model will be based on the C-class Merc, but that's about it. We're not even going to attempt to speculate on what sort of engine and what capacity it will develop, though forced induction via turbocharging is a given.

With the future of motoring looking towards diesel and bio-fuel, what will become of Australia? Over the next three or four years, expect more diesel cars on the road. Audi already has a few on sale, BMW will get serious next year and there even rumours that suggest the two local lads, Ford and Holden, will look into diesel powered family cars in the near future.

It would be great to see bio-diesels take off in Australia, but only time will tell.

Related links:
Biodiesel
Grassroots Bio Diesel
Australian Biodiesel