Carbon Motors To Buy BMW Diesels

WASHINGTON — BMW will supply 240,000 inline six-cylinder turbodiesel engines and automatic transmissions to Carbon Motors, a startup that plans to produce the E7 sedan, a purpose-built police car, at a former Visteon plant in Connersville, Indiana.

Carbon Motors announced plans for the E7 18 months ago and has since applied for a $310 million loan from the U.S. Department of Energy.

The agreement with BMW was announced on Monday at the GovSec/U.S. Law Expo here.

BMW said nearly 39 percent of the 1.3 million vehicles it sold last year were equipped with diesel engines — about 500,000 vehicles in total. The automaker said 63 percent of its sales in Europe are diesels.

In the U.S., BMW markets two diesel models, the 335d sedan and the X5 35d. Both models feature a 3.0-liter inline-6 turbodiesel mated to a six-speed automatic, delivering 265 horsepower and 425 pound-feet of torque.

Source: Indiacar.com Source : http://www.insideline.com (3/22/2010)