World's fastest diesel - revealed
14.12.2009 - Vijay Pattni
(8)
We all know the BMW 335d Coupe is really quick, but the fastest diesel in the world? You better believe it, because tuning god AC Schnitzer has unleashed its latest BMW in a long line of record breakers: the tuned 335d which is officially the world's fastest road-legal diesel car.
The monster AC Schnitzer ACS3 3.5d Coupe reached a whopping 288.7km/h (179.4mph) around southern Italy's Nardo high-speed race circuit to bring home a third world record for the German tuner.
The Schnitzer ACS3 beat the 2006 diesel-car world record by 8.7km/h along the eight-mile high-speed bowl.
The Schnitzer-tuned Beemer is based on the outstanding BMW 335d Coupe, itself a twin-turbocharged 282bhp 3-litre diesel churning out an epic 428lb/ft of pulling power.
This ACS3 3.5d is tuned to 310bhp thanks to a modified ECU, produces an astronomical 501lb/ft of pulling power and will hit 62mph from rest in just 5.7 seconds. That trumps the Ferrari Enzo by 15lb/ft...
The Schnitzer-tuned 335d gets racing suspension, an aluminium strut brace, two racing exhaust-pipes, AC Schnitzer front and rear spoilers and skirts, 20-inch AC Schnitzer wheels and carbon fibre racing inserts for the interior.
AC Schnitzer also racked up more impressive figures while at the Nardo track. Its ACS4 3.5 Turbo - based on the BMW Z4 sDrive35i - set a high speed of 188.3mph (303.1km/h).
As AC Schnitzer admits: "not a new world record, but such a high speed is almost unheard of for a roadster". Just let that sink in - a 188mph BMW Z4.
