Twin turbo for C5

French marque Citroën will debut a new twin turbo four-cylinder powerplant Down Under early next year. The powerplant, which will feature in the car maker's updated C5 exec saloon, is a diesel.

The new 2.2-litre engine features twin sequential turbos. Identical in size, the twin blowers build boost from very low revs. Citroën claims the new engine's peak torque of 370Nm is available from just 1500rpm.

Peak power of the high-tech low-emission diesel is a healthy 125kW. This matches the next generation TDI engines from VW and Audi due later in 2006. It also tops the likes of Alfa's 147 JTD and BMW's 120d/320d turbodiesels.

Citroën claims a 20 per cent improvement in in-gear acceleration in comparison to the existing C5 HDi.(Read our latest Citroën review here)

Too good to be true? Unlikely, European marques are investing heavily in diesel development, none more so than Citroën and Peugeot. Indeed, the latter recently announced it has dumped plans to return to WRC racing, instead electing (like Audi) to contest the next year's Le Mans 24 hours with a diesel-powered prototype racecar.