The BMW M57 is a six-cylinder engine and perhaps the automaker's best diesel ever. In road cars, it typically produces from 150 hp and 221 lb-ft of torque to 286 hp and 580 lb-ft of torque, while the Dakar rally car version generated 320 hp and 580 lb-ft of torque. Produced from 1998 to 2010, BMW made the M57 with three different displacements:2.5, 2.9, and 3.0-liters paired with a variety of exceptional accessories, including a variable geometry turbocharger, Bosch injector, diesel particulate filter, and a double mass flywheel.
However, the Common Rail injection system is perhaps the feature that pushed the engine to the top of the best diesel ever made list. It replaces the previous mechanical injection pump with a state-of-the-art high-pressure fuel rail. Pressures of up to 26,000 PSI guarantee that the diesel fuel is completely atomized resulting in a more efficient and cleaner combustion.
In 2008, the German automaker introduced the diesel engine to the U.S. market in the BMW 335d equipped with a unique sequential turbo arrangement that helped produce 265 hp and 425 lb-ft of torque. The sporty sedan accelerated to 60 mph in an impressive (for a 6-cylinder) 5.7 seconds and reached the quarter mile in just over 14 seconds. BMW installed the M57, rated to last 600,000 km, in several models including the BMW 3, 5, 6, and 7 Series, X Series, and the diesel engine also powered the Opel Omega B FL (C), and Land Rover Range Rover III (L322).