Driving pleasure had been AC Schnitzer's focus for 20 years when the company brought a remarkable study to the 62nd IAA. The GP3.10 GAS POWERED was a high-performance coupé running on autogas, based on the then current BMW 3 Series coupé. It set out to show that power and efficiency, economy and ecology could meet in one exciting car.
Under the bonnet sat the V10 from the M5 and M6, shown for the first time in a bivalent setup with a fully sequential LPG system and two parallel five-cylinder vaporisers. A new control unit and a revised exhaust with sport catalytic converter and tubular manifolds raised output to 552 hp and 540 Nm, 45 hp more than in the M5 and M6. A 70 litre gas tank sat alongside the original 60 litre petrol tank, so the fuels could be switched at any time.
LPG can be burned in almost any petrol engine after a conversion, and it produced around 15 percent less CO2. Performance did not suffer: 0 to 100 km/h took 4.5 seconds and 200 km/h came up after 13.9 seconds. Eight-piston fixed calipers with drilled, ventilated 374 x 36 mm discs at the front and a four-piston system with 350 x 24 mm discs at the rear stopped it just as hard.
A height adjustable RS coilover suspension, tuned on the Nürburgring Nordschleife and on public roads, worked with a special anti-roll bar set. New Type VI racing wheels with five hollow Y-spokes and a bicolour finish measured 9.0J x 20 at the front and 11.5J x 20 at the rear. Mineral green paint, chrome-ribbed intakes in the front wings, 60 mm wider rear arches, a diffuser and a roof wing with carbon centre section completed the look.
In October 2007, at the annual meeting of top tuners in Nardò under the patronage of Continental and together with Auto Bild sportscars, the GP3.10 turned the motto "beyond 300 km/h" into reality on LPG. GPS measurement on the 13 km high speed circuit showed 318.1 km/h. AC Schnitzer was the first company in the world to do this, and the GP3.10 officially became the world's fastest LPG powered vehicle.
Key facts
- Shown at the 62nd IAA
- 552 hp and 540 Nm V10 running on LPG
- 0 to 100 km/h in 4.5 seconds
- 318.1 km/h at Nardò in October 2007
- World's fastest LPG powered vehicle
