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The Ultimate Engine Sound - Made by a Diesel

You may know that we here at autoevolution are very interested in performance diesels and we would like to see more sporty diesels on our roads. However, despite the fact that the number of such cars is on the rise, which is all well and good, none really sound the part.
Detroit Diesel 1 photo
Photo: GM
You may think that this new Audi SQ5’s twin-turbo V6 diesel sounds good, and it does. But, the art of the evocative diesel sound was perfected even before the Audi brand was formed. We are, of course, talking about the ‘Screamin’ Detroit two-stroke diesel.

The two-stroke diesel was first introduced in 1938, as an alternative to large engine applications, where a gasoline-powered engines used too much fuel and had too little torque to do a job efficiently. It was then adopted and adapted for road and sea-faring use, as, for example, it was a two-stroke diesel that powered the Allies’ landing craft on the beaches of Normandy.

However, the reason these engines caused such a fuss is because they were very torquey and, of course, the engine note which frankly sounds just like any supercar, and if you were to hear one for the first time with your eyes closed, you wouldn’t for a second think that what you’re hearing is in fact fuel exploding by mere compression, with no spark.

The two stroke diesel was and still is used in all sorts of applications, from buses, to boats and even as electricity generators. There are an estimated 500,000 of them around the world still in use and they’re still in production, and despite now having as many as 4 turbochargers, the basic shape and principle has hardly changed since its inception, in 1938.

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