Diesel fuel is rated in Cetane as opposed to Octane, and it can be thought of as how fast the fuel can burn. Diesel fuel is injected during the compression cycle of the engine once the air gets hot enough from the compression. "Compression Ignition" is not an accurate description, since it does not ignite based on compression. Hot air ignition would be a more descriptive term. There is no throttle on a diesel since that would restrict the amount of air in the cylinder and it would not get hot enough to light the fuel. Unlike a normal gas engine, diesel fuel is injected over a span time at just the right time. Our "timing" is similiar to gas ignition, but it's the injection start time instead, and we have "duration" and "pressure" involved. One strange quirk is that you advance your timing as boost goes up with a turbo diesel, instead of retarding it.
The problem occurs because liquids do not burn, only gases do, and diesel fuel evaporates much slower than gasoline. The energy that is required to vaporize the diesel fuel cools down the air, so if you spray it in too quickly or early, it will not light immediately (pinging) or at all (bursting). At high RPM's you cannot spray the fuel in early enough without putting out the fire. High cetane fuels can help move that point up, but 8000 rpm peak power is just a dream with liquid fuel direct injection. The $$$ Audi only spins to 6000rpm IIRC, where it's gasoline competitors are over 10,000rpm.
There is a AA/DT Ford full-sized diesel pickup that ran a ~1200ci Detroit super&turbocharged marine engine. It ran ~202 at Bonneville, and 160 at Elmo. I would say it was about 1200hp?