Re: diesels and speed

[Keith Walker <100662.3423@domain.elided>]

>>A diesel-powered BMW X5 took a stage win in the 2003 Dakar rally this
week.
While they were congratulating the winning driver on taking the first
diesel-powered stage win in Dakar's 25 year history, they were talking
about
how a diesel-engined BMW also recently won the 24 hours of Nurburgring
outright...<<

Unfortunatly you may be able to make one go well, but nobody has yet
managed to make them fun to drive. Both my 33 P4 and the 75 TS it
replaced loved to rev, with a happy choice of several gears at any
point depending on how quick you wanted to go. Easy to go onto a
roundabout at 2000rpm and hold the same gear smoothly the whole
way round to 6500rpm.

The trouble with diesels is they are all torque and no revability,
with the "power band the width of a chocolate mouse cock" (to quote
Barry Sheene). Fine for pushing buses round, fine for cruising in
a straight line. Horrible for driving for pleasure.

As to the better fuel consumption, what do you expect when it burns
a fuel which contains 15% more energy than petrol for the same volume?

All thebest

Keith
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