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The Queen's latest addition to the royal LPG fleet - read more
Stars shoot for Autogas - read more
BMW breaks LPG world speed record - read more
UK built LPG supercar - read more
It's a gas for bikes - read more
LPG vehicle markets in the UK and around the world - read more
The Queen's latest addition to the Royal LPG fleet
The Bentley used for the wedding of Peter Phillips, the Queen's eldest grandson and his Canadian bride Autumn Kelly at Windsor Castle's St George's Chapel. in May 2008, was converted at the Bentley factory to use LPG.
Like the previous royal limousine, the Queen has used many vehicles that operate on this ultra clean fuel. This includes a traditional London taxi cab used by the Windsor Castle staff for errands and rumoured that Prince Phillip takes it out for a spin by himself when he wants to drive into town to keep a low profile.
Former Republic of Ireland football captain and premier league player for Southampton, Andy Townsend, has joined the ranks of celebrities who rely on autogas as their fuel of choice. Townsend has recently had his 4.4 litre supercharged Range Rover Sport converted to run on the Prins VSI system - a decison taken to cut his fuel bills and reduce fhis carbon footprint.
BMW tuning company AC Schnitzer claimed a new world record for the fastest ever LPG powered car in November 2008.
Using a tuned BMW 3-series coupe, the car lapped the famous Nardo test track at 318.1km/h (equivelent to 198mph.
The AC Shnitzer GP3.10 is far from a stripped out racing special. It is ready for the road with all the expected luxury features. Under the bonnet is BMW's M5 5 litre engine with power raised from 500bhp to 544bhp with the aid of the tuned LPG system.
An ambitious young Norfolk company has wheeled out a new British sportscar designed to run on LPG as well as petrol
The venture is the brainchild of Dereham based Breckland Technology Ltd – part of Hong Kong based multinational, Riche Holdings.
The LPG capability not only helps to reduce running costs and emissions but also means Beira is capable of a range of some 700 miles between refuelling stops – the equivalent of travelling non-stop from the north to the south coast of France.
Breckland’s Beira is a two-seat V8 soft top based on proven GM architecture and powered by GM’s LS2, 6-litre V8 engine, tuned to produce just a whisper short of 400bhp. Tipping the scales at 1,400kg, the Beira’s power-to-weight ratio promises a sub-five second sprint to 100kph, coupled with tremendous torque and a governed top speed of 155mph.
The car debuts in left-hand drive form, underlining its appeal to enthusiasts in Europe and well beyond, and will be available in the UK and internationally from November 2008.The on-the-road price is expected to be around £55,000 in the UK
LPG autogas isn’t just for cars and vans
Bike manufacturers aren’t convinced there would be enough demand, especially with the complication of an additinal fuel tank. However the storage of the LPG tank can be overcome as with this V Strom, above, built by Suzuki Belgium utilising the top case.
The LPG conversion costs around £1,250, worthwhile for high mileage bikers
LPG vehicle markets in the UK and around the world
From only 3,500 at the end of 1998, there were 144,000 vehicles on the road in the UK by the end of 2007. Since then this figure will have increased to over 150,000. We have over 1400 refuelling stations which is one of the highest number compared with the number of vehicles in the world.
Worldwide at the end of 2006 there were over 12million LPG vehicles with 7.3 million of these in Europe.
Notable markets include:
Korea - 2.047 million - the largest market in the world
Australia - 550,000 - now one of the fastest growing markets following the introduction of grants in 2006
Japan - 300,000 - mostly taxis which are required to run on LPG
Poland - 1.9million - the largest market in Europe
Turkey - 1.8million
Italy - 950,000 - one of the longest established markets and one of two main sources of LPG equiment used in the UK
Netherlands - 275,000 - the other main source of LPG equipment used in the UK
France - 150,000 - our closest neighbour and with one of the best refuelling networks on main routes
Germany - 125,000 - and the fastest growing market in the world following the government freeze on fuel duty to 2018
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