Hot Diesels
If you go back to the 2000s to the mid-2010s in Europe, chances are you’ll mostly hear the clatter of diesels on the streets. Europe went all-in on diesel in those days, and everything from subcompact hatchbacks to luxury sedans had, at the very least, an oil-burner option. Diesel also had benefits at the time, which further boosted its appeal.
Inevitably, many automakers made high-performance diesels. Some even went racing, but for the average buyer back then, it meant a quick car that still returned 35 MPG without even trying. You could say the Volkswagen Group kicked off the diesel revolution, but BMW also had some wild ideas at the time.
BMW
The Only Production Tri-Turbo Diesel
BMW’s first performance diesel of sorts was the 535d. While it already made diesel V8s, those were reserved for the 7 Series. The 35d democratized fast(er) diesels in the BMW range, later being applied to the X5 and X3, as well as the 3 Series and even the 6 Series. This version of the M57 inline-six had two turbos, making 282 hp and 428 lb-ft, so it was absolutely no slouch, no matter where it was placed.
The 35d eventually evolved from the N57 inline-six. Like before, it was a ‘have your cake and eat it too’ kind of engine, but that was no longer enough for BMW, as it seemed. So they created the N57S; instead of adding a pair of extra cylinders or bigger turbochargers, they added an extra turbo. The result was, and still is, the only production triple-turbo engine made for mass production. It made 381 hp and 541 lb-ft, meaning it made more torque than a contemporary M5 that put out a ‘mere’ 502 lb-ft.
BMW
What Cars Used It?
The tri-turbo diesels were introduced in 2012, and the main purpose of the third turbocharger was to eliminate (or lessen) lag with the happy side effect of more power. Per BMWBlog, this engine launched what we now know as M Performance, the junior counterpart of sorts to the M Division. In other words, most of the cars with these engines are why we have models such as the M340i, M240i, X3 M50, and so on.
So, what cars got this triple-turbo oil-burner? It was in the F10 M550d xDrive (sedan) and F11 M550d xDrive Touring (wagon), as well as the E70 X5 M50d and E71 X6 M50d. This engine also appeared in the succeeding generation of the X5 and X6, the F15 and F16, respectively. It was also used on one non-M Performance model: the F01 750d xDrive and F02 750Ld xDrive.
BMW
Awesomely Complex
One can only imagine the pipework involved in building this tri-turbo diesel. There’s also the matter of each stage of turbo needing to talk to each other to wake each other up, along with the maintenance of each one. Complex would probably be an understatement, but the N57S was built during a time where hybrids were still more of an efficiency aid over performance enhancer.
Today, there’s no need to resort to such measures to get power and efficiency, as hybrids and plug-in hybrids have pretty much taken care of that. Still, it was a cool engine, and as it’s a diesel, there’s no doubt that it’s a range hero. Of course, it was never made available in America, meaning anyone who’d like one will have to wait until 2037 before it’s eligible for import. Once that happen’s we’d gladly take an M550d Touring.
BMW
BMW
