Mercedes Benz is adding a small luxury diesel to its S-Class car line according to a report in Bloomberg. Mercedes has announced that this luxury diesel will get 41 mpg — that’s better mileage than the S-Class hybrid which is listed as getting 19 city and 25 highway .

Instead of the usual V-8, this new entry into the S-Class will be a be a 4-cylinder diesel. By this move, Mercedes is somewhat out on a limb.  It it is the first of the luxury-car maker to put a downsized engine into one of its luxury cars.

“Green luxury is feasible,” said Verena Mueller, a Mercedes spokeswoman told Bloomberg . “We expect to attract environmentally conscious customers who are seeking the lowest possible CO2 emissions.”

The new diesel will be offered in Europe. There is no information as to whether it will be offered in the U.S.

Further reading:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-11-08/daimler-ups-ante-in-green-luxury-race-with-smaller-engines-on-s-class-cars.html?loc=interstitialskip

Photo: A truly beautiful car - the MB 300SL http://www.flickr.com/photos/jcheng/22530351/

KJC 2010