For three decades, the Aachen-based AC Schnitzer tuning company has offered committed BMW, MINI and also LAND ROVER drivers access to superior vehicle technology from motorsport, and has often even managed to suggest new routes for BMW. In 1987, Willi Kohl and Herbert Schnitzer founded AC Schnitzer automobile Technik on Neuenhofstraße in Aachen. The same year, a world premiere was prepared at what is still the headquarters of Kohl automobile GmbH. The tuning specialist presented the first AC Schnitzer product range for the 7-series E32 at the IAA in Frankfurt.
Innovation quickly succeeded innovation: in 1989, the AC Schnitzer ACS3 Sport based on the BMW E30 M3 was launched at the IAA in Frankfurt. In 1993, the legendary AC Schnitzer CLS – Coupé Lightweight Silhouette (based on the BMW M3 E36) stood in the starting gates.
In 1997, AC Schnitzer achieved a further milestone. For its ten-year anniversary, the Aachen-based engineers showed something impossible: a BMW Z3 with a V8 engine.
In 2003 came another premier: 3 years before the BMW Z4 Coupé came onto the market AC Schnitzer presented the TOPSTER, the very first coupé version of the Z4, at the IAA in Frankfurt.
In 2005, the AC Schnitzer TENSION, based on the BMW M6 E63, celebrated its world premiere at the IAA and a few weeks later in Nardò, smashed the world record at 331.78 km/h. This made it the fastest road-legal BMW of its time.
The focal points of 2006 and 2007 were the AC Schnitzer PROFILE based on the BMW M Coupé E86 and the AC Schnitzer GP3.10 GAS POWERED based on the BMW 335i Coupé. Shortly after, the latter took the world record for an LPG-powered car in Nardò with 318.1 km/h. In the years which followed, not only did innovation succeed innovation, but the series of records held by the Aachen company continued.
At the Essen Motor Show in 2009, AC Schnitzer presented the first TUNE IT! SAFE! police campaign vehicle BMW 123d. The special concept car, presented every year, must meet both the high demands of tuning fans and also standards of maximum safety. With a total of 4 concept cars to date, AC Schnitzer has impressively demonstrated that the safe future of tuning is one of the company’s key aims.
AC Schnitzer ended 2012 with representatives in over 50 countries worldwide and a share in a foreign representative in the USA.
Another milestone in automotive history was achieved by AC Schnitzer in 2015 with its own interpretation of the BMW i8. AC Schnitzer has added even more innovations to the most advanced sports car of the present age.
In 2016, the ACL2 concept car based on the BMW M235i, with significantly reduced weight and tremendous power, was presented to the global public.
In its anniversary year, the Aachen-based tuning specialists are releasing a special edition, limited to 30 examples, of extensive conversions covering all areas of the vehicle for the BMW M240i (coupé and cabriolet). The “ACL2S” anniversary conversion again demonstrates that everything is possible beyond the standard.
