Gas-powered Transit from Nicholson McLaren

Date: Thursday, December 13, 2007

A London congestion tax exempt dual-fuel conversion that will allow the latest Ford Transits powered by the Duratec 2.3-litre petrol engine to run on either petrol or liquefied petroleum gas (lpg) has been launched by Nicholson McLaren Engines (NME). Costing £1,950 plus VAT — the price comes down if you want a fleet of Transits converted — it incorporates a 95-litre lpg tank mounted under the vehicle and employs Teleflex Gfi SGI 3 technology.

 

It uses a sequential, common rail, gas injection system that allows lpg to be injected at high pressure into the engine's inlet manifold, as close to the valves as possible. As a consequence there's no risk of a backfire according to NME, a problem that it says is often associated with less-sophisticated conversions.

The package is supported by a three-year/100,000-mile warranty. At 15,000 miles, service intervals are the same as those that govern the standard vehicle.

Although the conversion has only just been introduced, Wokingham, Berks, based NME has already received over 100 orders says sales director, John Waghorn, including 22 from construction group Kier. Other customers include retailer Iceland and Humberside Police.


“The fact that Humberside is interested shows that demand isn't driven solely by the situation in London,” he says.

NME also offers a dual-fuel conversion suitable for Peugeot's Partner and Citroën's Berlingo, and it's included in the latter's Ready to Run programme.

“In total we carry out 50 conversions a month, mainly on Berlingo,” Waghorn says. “Citroën dealers in London have really got behind them.”

Share



View The WhatVan Digital Edition