Ricardo Modifies Commercial Diesel for Speed-Record Attempt

Generating 150 hp per liter of displacement suggests the ear-splitting scream of Formula 1 racing engines, not the muted clatter of a low-revving workhorse diesel.

But that’s just what automotive-engineering consultant Ricardo plc. has accomplished by modifying a standard 4-cyl. turbodiesel built by the British construction-equipment company J.C. Bamford Excavators Ltd. that powers its wide range of backhoe loaders and other earthmoving equipment.

Ricardo of Shoreham, ...