Diesel is the future : Mercedes set new records

[conan]

Thursday 12th May 2005

Merc Diesel Is Miles Better

riving 100,000 miles would take a decade for most people, but a trio of diesel saloons each reached the marathon milestone in only 30 days.

The Mercedes E320 CDI models - powered by the firm's new 224bhp V6 oil-burner - completed the epic run as part of a record-breaking endurance challenge in Laredo, Texas.

The standard production cars each travelled 100,000 miles at an average speed of 139mph, and all three cars had to complete 20,000 laps of the high-speed track. During the month-long event, the cars made an incredible 966 fuel stops in total. (That's almost 1000 miles (1600 Kms) per tank!)

They were also serviced according to the standard indicator light, so each required 10 trips to the garage. A group of 18 drivers split into three teams carried out the test, with each taking two-hour stints behind the wheel. But the effort was worth it; the whole event was monitored by the FIA, and Mercedes is claiming more than 20 records for the new diesel engine, based on endurance and speed over set distances. The new oil-burner is set to arrive in showrooms this summer.