In the land of the turbodiesel, the tri-turbo is king. And when we say tri-turbo diesel, we’re thinking BMW‘s 381 HP N57S engine that powers their M550d and X5/X6 M50d models.
In terms of saloons (or really anything that’s not a large SUV), the BMW 550d is one of the fastest diesel-powered cars in the world. Besides the 381 HP, it also packs a hefty 740 Nm of peak torque which helps it get from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 4.7 seconds.
If you’re wondering if that’s the fastest one can get on such an engine, well, step aside for the G-Power BMW M550d. It relies on the D-Tronik 5 V1 module to unleash no fewer than 435 HP and 850 Nm (625 lb-ft) of torque.
That’s good enough to get this 5 Series Touring to 100 km/h in 4.5 seconds – only 0.2 seconds off the pace of the BMW M5. It can also get you as high up as 300 km/h (186 mph), and that’s very impressive.
But hey, what about the 3 Series? A lighter car will always make for a better choice if you’re planning on injecting it with more muscle. Think of it this way: how much faster would an M3 be if it had M5-level of power? A lot faster than an M5, that’s for sure.
Same with this 335d xDrive. The standard car has 313 HP and 630 Nm of torque and will hit 100 km/h (62 mph) in 4.8 seconds.
However, the guys from Profi Tuning strapped on their Stage 3 power-kit, which is good for 440 HP and 800 Nm of torque and basically turned this car into what could very well be the fastest diesel saloon in the world.
As you can tell from the chart at the end of the video, it will do 0-100 km/h in 4 seconds, which makes it faster than both the M3 and the M5. It will also do 300 km/h just like the G-Power M550d, which makes it more exciting – since we’re talking about a lighter car and a better handling car.