I vividly remember reading in Auto Motor und Sport the first time about BMW’s plans to build a diesel. Oh no! How can they sully their reputation for their engines, which invariably get described as being “turbine smooth” in every magazine review? What’s the world coming to?
But then after BMW unleashed their low-rev, high-efficiency eta gas engine, in the form of the 528e in 1982, which contradicted all of their efforts so far in building the ultimate engines, the writing was on the wall. And sure enough, just one year later, the 524td arrived, and it turned out to be, well, the BMW of diesels. It had the highest specific output (47.5 hp/L) of any diesel at the time, it revved cleanly to 5000rpm, it had a top speed of 112mph and clicked off the 0-60 run in 11.0 seconds, and was remarkably quiet to boot.
There was only one problem.
Which is the fact that by the time it arrived, 1983, the diesel boom had peaked and was quickly heading downhill. Gas prices had moderated, and performance was in again, thanks to turbos, fuel injection and better technology. It was all about timing, and BMW’s was a bit late, in the US anyway. But in Europe, the diesel boom was really just getting under way, so it’s not like its investment in a new engine plant in the Steyr area of Austria was for naught. Within a couple of decades, the majority of BMWs in Europe would be diesel powered.
As to the actual methods to achieve such a remarkable level of performance and efficiency, BMW started with its well proven M20 smaller six family, but kept the bore down to 80mm in order to provide full water jackets to each cylinder. The cylinder head was of course totally new, still a SOHC, but the hemi head configuration does not work in a diesel given the need for a very small combustion chamber with its 22:1 compression ratio. A Garrett turbo provides up to 11.6 psi of boost, resulting in 114 hp @ 4800 rpm, and 155 lb.ft. @ 2400 rpm.
Interestingly, the 528e’s eta gas six had its power peak at a significantly lower 4250 rpm, and made 121 hp. Somewhat surprisingly, the 528e made more torque, at 177 lb.ft. Diesels do inherently make less torque, but that’s easily compensated by boost. But apparently the boost wasn’t yet enough at this time to make up the difference. That would change over time, as induction pressures grew ever higher in the late ’90s and 00’s, resulting in phenomenal torque ratings.
But at the time, the 528e and 524td had quite similar results, but different approaches. Performance was also roughly similar. But the 528e vastly outsold the 542td, in the US.
That 0-60 time of 11.0 seconds I quoted earlier came from R&T’s test, but that was a manual. Undoubtedly the automatic as installed in this very nicely kept survivor would be a bit slower.
Such a clean example, although there does seem to be a bit of an issue with the seat back card. And that seat must be just about all the way pushed forward, as the leg room in these E28 sedans was anything but stellar.
BMW was in a very conservative stage at the time, in terms of its styling, which really was getting old in the case of the 5 series, as well as the 3 series. The E28, which arrived in 1981, was really nothing more than a refreshed E12, which dated back to 1972. And the E28 soldiered on until 1987, by which time it was rather embarrassingly outdated, especially in comparison to the Mercedes W124.
BMW was willing to share its new diesel, and did so most notably with Lincoln, where both the Mark VII and the Fox-based Continental could be had with the little diesel six in 1984 and 1985. Take rates were very low.
And the Vixen 21 compact motor home also used the same engine out back, making for a very efficient rig.
The 524td may have had a modest impact in the US, but it signaled the beginning of an era of ever-more refined and powerful diesel engines. That alone makes it a pioneer.
I was a too-young-to-drive teenager when these were new, and perhaps because I couldn’t drive one, the lure of BMWs totally escaped me. Why were these very plain, not very big, not very fast cars so expensive? Was their handling and steering feel really that good to warrant costing twice the price of a similarly-sized, better-equipped Japanese sedan?
I have yet to see a diesel-powered Lincoln; I didn’t even know until recently that the Fox Continental sedan offered the BMW diesel, not just the Mark VII where it was at least advertised.
I recall reading about these at the time but did not see the point. As you note, gas prices were coming back down to normal and BMW had built its reputation on the smooth performance of those wonderful gasoline sixes. But as you note, it made perfect sense in the European market that was doubling down on diesel.
I have not thought about this before, but I wonder if Mercedes going virtually all-in on Diesels in 1984-85 created an opening in the US market that BMW took advantage of. As I remember it, you had to go up to an S class to get a gasoline engine in a Benz at that time, but BMW gave you a full menu of gasoline cars. We know how well BMW did in those years – might they have had less of an opening if Mercedes had been offering gasoline versions of their more popular cars. True that BMW was a very different driving experience than a Mercedes, but most US customers were buying the prestige, not the drive.
Performance not very much better than the 1905cc Peugeot TD but if driven properly instead of revved out thru the gears likely faster than the figures suggest more modern BMW diesels go quite well this was the start of their learning curve.
Informative essay! Thanks.
Still nice-looking – it may have been visually outdated due to the W124 by 1987 but I’d argue that compared to the W123 still being sold a year or two earlier it acquitted itself just fine. Of course neither could hold a candle to the future in the form of the Audi 100 intro’d in ’83 and which gave both of them a kick in the “Kurzen Hosen”. A superb find though being that that they were rare enough to start with…
Yeah I agree against the W123. Only thing about the styling that doesn’t work are the US spec bumpers, it looks more like a 70s European car with those park benches, euro spec it looks much more contemporary
But I appreciate the different approaches to design all three had, Audi has mostly stayed true to clean design but look at BMW and Mercedes now you can pretty much deepfake a twin kidney grille onto the latest mercedes or vice versa and nobody will bat an eye, there’s very little distinctive about them beyond their front ends.
I detested these. Never drove one, but we lived in Denver, and getting stuck behind one on I-70 up the mountains meant choking on unreasonable amounts of diesel soot. I didn’t keep count of how often it happened or anything, but I still remember it (and my “Oh, no, not again…” reaction) vividly enough that I feel like it must have been multiple times.
To be fair, it wasn’t just the diesel Bimmers—it was pretty much all diesel vehicles—but the central tailpipe of the 524TD stands out in mind.
I’m glad you found one of these to write up. Whenever I see an E28 BMW, I always check to see if it’s a 524td, but haven’t found one yet.
I guess from an American standpoint, the td seemed at odds with BMW’s advertised sporting image, which, along with its late start, accounted for it being outsold handily by Mercedes diesels. Folks interested in European dealers just didn’t think of BMW, and vice versa. Too bad, as these were great engines.
The 1992 325i made the world safe for the 524td. Before its arrival, the turbodiesel BMWs were little more than crankshaft donors for people racing M20-powered BMWs. The arrival of wrecked M50-powered E36s in junkyards made building 200 horsepower M20s an expensive waste of time, thus allowing a few 524tds, Vixens, and Lincoln diesels to reach old age.
I worked in a small BMW repair shop in the mid 90s, and even then, parts supplies specific to BMW’s diesel models were drying up. One needed a vacuum pump and we got the last one in the US according to BMW. Unless it was a Mercedes, VW or a big truck, most of the lower volume ’80s diesels became essentially, orphans.
The other BMW feature I didn’t care for was using a timing belt on an interference engine – including these diesels and their ’80s 528e/325 models.
I love these ‘square’ body-styles though!
Here’s one I shot in Seattle. Paul’s shot of the right tail light and 524td badge is so much like mine that I did a double-take. Great minds think alike!
https://www.flickr.com/photos/12119356@N00/albums/72157713874332038/with/48197495447/
IIRC the 524td was only available in the US with an automatic transmission, which seems weird for BMW at the time.
Now, not so much…
Not true. In Europa it was too with Automatik.
The 524td has to be the least loved BMW of all time. I was working for Allison BMW in Sunnyvale CA. at the time they were new. We sold only a handful of them – and were the sales leader for the western region. Meanwhile, the 528e’s were selling like popcorn.
I also did a service on one of the diesel Lincolns when I was at Bellevue WA BMW. The Lincoln dealer refused to work on it!
Robert:
In the Bay Area in the 1980s 528e could be bought for the price of fully loaded Ford Taurus. Remember,Germany was still recovering from WW2 and did anything to sell unload 3/5 Series.
Concord BMW had a few 524TDs during that time……….they sat on the Dealer lots for ages…..even then,the converted gasoline BMW Diesel had few fans,especially with it being a Interference engine along with a nasty reputation of injection-pump belt timing issues