Engine - Exhaust
The conversion to the 3.2 litre six-cylinder engine was made with the exclusive use of approved large series parts to guarantee a quality to cope with the highest demands. In contrast to the standard 140 hp four-cylinder engine, the 3152 ccm engine powered 260 hp / 191 kW and supplied 333 Nm of maximum torque at 4400 revs.
Transmission
Corresponding to the improved power output there was assembled the five speed manual gearbox from the Z3 M-roadster which was upgraded with the AC Schnitzer Short Shift gear-shift travel shortage to make shifting even quicker and more precisely. The standard 318ti compact rear axle differential was exchanged for a stronger unit with longer transmission-ratio and 25 per cent differential lock.
So prepared, the special model realised driving performances which were able to compete with the ones of genuine sportscars. The sprint from 0 - 100 km/h took 5.6 seconds only and with a top speed of 258 km/h, the AC Schnitzer ACS3 3.2 compact "10 Years Limited Edition" was one of the fastest ”small cars” all over the world.
Brakes
These performance were controlled by a high performance brake system with bigger ventilated discs and special calipers at the front axle and with a sporty-comfortably tuned sports suspension which has been adjusted according to the results of hard tests on the road and on the race-track.