Maybe this isn't news to anyone else, but it is to me! Here is a link to a diesel powered e24 on German ebay...

http://cgi.ebay.de/BMW-635-D-Einmalig-CSI-mit-Turbo-Diesel-KAT_W0QQitemZ260142625972QQihZ016QQcategoryZ9837QQ ssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Neat. I've never seen anything like that. I wish I knew German. Too bad there arent some more detailed pics of the engine bay.

Somebody did a swap with a 524td engine.

there are different models for different regions.. I've seen a 720i. I'm sure that wasn't a swap. Can't imagine how hard the 2.0 had to work in that big car.

There wasn't a diesel 6-er though, in any market, at that time. They didn't offer a diesel in the 7 series 'till the E38 (725tds, 730d and 740d).

As for a 720i, that wouldn't be diesel, and you probably mis-read a 730i.

a misread of a 730 would be a logical conclusion, but wrong. it was a 720. It was in Jordan where the taxes on the car were horrendous based on displacement. going over 2 litres meant a 100% tax!!! MB and BMW made special models just for that market.

I lived in Syria for several years. They have the same tax system, but I never saw a 7 series with an M20 engine. Lots of 520s, no BMW diesels (diesel is very restricted in Syria).

I've checked every book and website I have for BMW models, and come up with nothing smaller than a 2.5L engine in a 7-series (the e23 725i). No 7-series diesels 'till the e38, and no diesel engine produced by BMW smaller than the M21 2.4L.

The only conclusion I can come to is that you saw a car that was "re-badged" (I saw an e23 badged as M7 in Syria - no such thing), or if the engine was, in fact, the 2.0L it had been re-engined after the fact (a very slim possibility that it was a factory special order, but anyone who could afford that could afford a 5L engine in Jordan). There were Middle East specifications, but no unique models offered.

In any case, to get back on topic, a diesel e24 is clearly an after-sale engine swap.

The auction states that the car was "re-equipped" with a diesel and that that odometer was reset when the swap was done (implying that it was a new motor that was installed).

There was never a diesel E24 in any market.