Americans want more diesels, according to many polls and word-on-the-street. Diesel engines offer a lot of advantages, and have come a long way from the loud, clunky engines of the 1980′s. They offer both torque, and fuel efficiency… and they also happen to be badasses on the race track.
Tomorrow is the official start of one of the greatest races on Earth, the 24 Hours of Le Mans. And taking the seven top qualifying slots are all diesel vehicles, with the venerable Peugeot leading the pack.
The 24 Hours of Le Mans is one of the most recognizable races in the worlds, and as far as endurance races go, it is one of the most extreme. 24 hours of straight racing as high speeds? Intense. And believe it or not, fuel efficiency plays a huge role in these sorts of races. The fewer pit stops you make, the more laps you can complete.
This season, the cars to keep up with are the Peugeot 908′s, four of which took the top four qualifying positions. The next three cars were the Audi R15+ LMP1 cars, the slowest of which was two seconds faster than the eigth-place qualifying Aston Martin Lolas.
So when are American automakers gonna get the hint and give us some more diesels?
Source: LeMans via AutoBlogGreen | Image: ALMS
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