Diesel MGs- A Brief But Fruitful Combination

With diesel cars being this year’s automotive whipping boys and internal combustion engines in general being supposedly on borrowed time, it seems we are unlikely to see another MG getting its power from the black pump. In this special feature, Richard Colby looks behind diesel engine development at BL and its successor companies, and takes us right up to the diesel powered MG6, launched in 2012 and now likely to be the last car in MG’s relatively short dalliance with DERV.

 

The whole idea of a diesel MG is still anathema for many MG fans and it is likely that this, more than anything, is why a diesel engine did not appear in an MG until 2001. There were, however, several opportunities prior to this when a diesel MG may have been considered because, in addition to taxis, diesel powered cars have been part of the BMC/British Leyland/BL/Austin Rover car family on several occasions since the early 1960s.

The first of these was the Austin A60 Diesel, launched in the summer of 1962. This used a dieselised version of the 1.5-litre B-series engine and had performance that was unlikely to scare the competition of the day, with a quoted 0-60mph time of 39.4 seconds and a 66mph top speed. The A60 was withdrawn from the catalogue in 1969 with no plans to fit the engine into any other current models at the time.

During the 1970s the B-series diesel found its way into the Sherpa range of light commercial vehicles, and also  became a popular marine engine. Consideration was given to installing it in the Marina and Princess, but this idea was not developed and so the petrol B-series remained the mainstay power unit for BMC/BL mid-range cars, including of course the MGB.