MINI will reset the emissions benchmark for a sporting passenger car when the new MINI Cooper D - that's D for diesel - Hardtop arrives in Australia mid-way through 2009.

It will be Australia’s cleanest car, as well as the first overtly sporty diesel car in this segment.

The new MINI Cooper D demonstrates the great potential of modern diesel engines more impressively than ever before. It produces fewer CO2 emissions than hybrid cars on sale in Australia, yet provides very perky performance from its 1.6-litre turbocharged direct-injection four-cylinder engine.

The MINI Cooper D comes with a six-speed manual gearbox as standard, and a six-speed automatic transmission is available as an option.

The MINI Cooper D is also fitted with several MINIMALISM features (MINI’s version of BMW EfficientDynamics), including the Auto Start Stop function which means the engine switches itself off in traffic jams or at the lights, instead of idling, wasting fuel.

Further MINIMALISM features are Brake Energy Regeneration, previously only available on the BMW M3, and a Shift Point Display that prompts the driver to make upshifts at the most economical time.

In addition, the MINI Cooper D has a streamlined underbody aerodynamic panel for reduced drag, and on-demand functioning ancillaries, such as Electric Power Assisted Steering, a switchable water pump, and volume flow regulated oil pump. All these features serve to reduce fuel consumption.

The 80 kW diesel engine delivers a punchy 240 Nm of torque between 1,750 rpm and 2,000 rpm, 70 percent of which is available at just 1,250 rpm.

This is the third turbocharged MINI engine, joining the petrol-fuelled MINI Cooper S and MINI Cooper S John Cooper Works models, both of which feature twin scroll turbocharging.

Like the MINI Cooper S engines, the lightweight (123.5 kg) MINI Cooper D engine also offers a torque "Overboost" feature. This injection of an extra 20 Nm of grunt punts peak torque to 260 Nm at short notice, for even swifter overtaking. The "Overboost" is accessed by pressing the accelerator pedal to the metal.

The MINI Cooper D is the fastest accelerating 1.6-litre diesel powered car in the class in Australia, and the most frugal, by a significant margin.

In addition to incredible fuel economy, the MINI Cooper D delivers very low exhaust emissions of carbon dioxide.

The combined cycle fuel consumption figure is a miserly 3.9-litres per 100 km, with only 104 g/km of CO2 emitted.

With a maximum range of 1,025 km from a tank, a MINI Cooper D could comfortably travel from Sydney to Melbourne without refuelling its 40-litre tank.

The 1.6 litre four-cylinder power unit has common rail direct injection (operating at 1,600 bar) and a turbocharger that uses variable turbine geometry which ensures perfectly matched power delivery at all engine speeds, and extremely responsive performance. The turbocharger was developed specifically for the MINI Cooper D.

Full specification and pricing information will be announced closer to launch in 2009.