Mazda has set 20 new FIA speed records - subject to FIA homologation - after running three Mazda6 models around the ATP test oval in Papenburg, Germany.
Trying to set a 24-hour average speed record for diesel-powered production cars in the 2.0- to 2.5-litre category, the 6s were powered by the 175hp Skyactiv-D 2.2-litre engine. And in the course of doing so, a number of other records at set distances were broken, subject to FIA approval.
Lapping the track saw them cover 5,300km during the period, in the hands of 23 drivers from seven EU countries doing 1.5-hour stints each. To achieve the record, neither of the trailing cars was allowed to travel in the slipstream of a car ahead, while the drivers needed to be careful not to lose too much speed in the steeply banked curves at either end of the track.
In the end, the lead car achieved 221.072km/h - smashing the old figure of 209.824km/h. The other two cars were within a 0.89km/h average of the leading vehicle.
Anything else?
The drivers were made up of professionals, journalists and car enthusiasts, selected as part of a campaign begun by Mazda in May. And it's not the first time a diesel Mazda6 has proved its worth on track - in 2013 a Skyactiv-D racer became the first diesel ever to win a race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the US.