DIAMOND Aircraft is working on a brand new single-engine piston aircraft to rival top-of-the-range models.

The new DA50 Super Star will be up against the Cirrus SR22, Columbia 400, Cessna's new NGP when it's ready and the Czech-made Evektor SuperCobra, which had its maiden flight recently.

Diamond showed off the aircraft to staff and guests at the company's Christmas Party, held at its HQ, Wiener Neustadt, Austria on 15 December.

Not many details have been released other than the DA50 will have a range of avgas and avtur burning engines available, up to a max of 350hp.

One engine may well be the 350hp turbodiesel V8 Centurion 4.0 built by Germany specialist Thielert. Diamond and Thielert have a long history of working together, producing the DA40 TDI and DA42 Twin Star.Thielert is also working on a 230hp turbodiesel to fit between the 135hp Centurion 1.7 used in the DA40, and the 4.0 version. Not much is known about the rest of the DA50. It appears in the only photo to be released, above, to have downturned winglets on the T-tail, a

Centurion 4.0 engine