AC Schnitzer BMW 335d becomes the fastest street legal diesel at the Nardo Ring, w/ video

Top speed records are worth their weight in gold in tuner car circles where bragging is expected and actually being able to back up these claims is less often the norm. The German modification house AC Schnitzer has just attained one of those coveted titles just the other day with a customized BMW 335d. Yes that’s right, d stands for diesel, making the alternatively fueled ACS3 Series the fastest street legal diesel in the world. The location for the record setting event was the infamous Nardo test ring in Italy, a 7.8 long circle with just enough banking to let the driver keep the wheel as straight as possible at over 200 MPH on a closed course.

In this case it was the editors of AUTO BILD who piloted the Continental tire shod AC Schnitzer modified BMW 335d, a car that gets 36 MPG on the highway from the factory along with the fun of a 265 HP twin turbocharged inline six cylinder engine to a top speed of 288.7 km/h, or 179.3 MPH in American. The 335d used the German tuners simple and straightforward performance packages that boost torque to a whopping 405 lb-ft and drops the diesel powered sports coupe’s 0 to 60 MPH time by a full half second taking it down to a very sporty 6.1 seconds.

The power mods consist of a reprogrammed computer module to increase turbo pressure and add a bit more fuel to the mix while a stylish twin tip exhaust pokes out from either side of the rear bumper and give the green BMW a more aggressive groan. Although 180 MPH may not sound that impressive along side 250 MPH machines like the Bugatti Veyron and Ultima SSC, it is reassuring to see that there is an interest in diesel performance. Now if only Audi would produce the R8 TDI super car this record would easily be theirs without any help from the aftermarket.

Video and press release after the jump.