The British Touring Car Championship in 2004 saw the introduction, and potentially ground breaking use of an LPG car (liquefied petroleum gas). This was the first time it had been used in such a mainstream race, although it had been used in lesser races before.

LPG cars bring many benefits, at the forefront of which are that they are much cleaner/ better for the environment and also present significant cost savings over petrol or even diesel cars, which during a race or championship will bring much cost savings to racing car teams.

As LPG is an alternative fuel, it isn’t something you’d expect to see in something as mainstream as the BTCC but developments in alternative fuels have made it possible and brought it to everyone’s attention.

But, surely even with developments a fuel which is much cleaner than petrol or diesel must bring with it a drop in vehicle performance?

….Well, according to LPG enthusiasts and converters Fuelture, “there is no difference in vehicle performance after an LPG conversion.”

Fuelture is a UK based company, using partnerships with Nicholson McLaren to build a reputation of high quality LPG conversions, to ensure that automotive LPG has a bright future.

As for the future of LPG, don’t rule out seeing and LPG car on an f1 circuit or in one of the “fast and the furious” movies!