Ford sets LPG endurance record

The LPG XT Falcon managed to travel nearly 2500km in 24 hours.

Ford New Zealand says it has set the world's first endurance record for a car running on liquid petroleum gas.

The team of drivers, Keith Sharp, Graham Sharp, Anthony Myhre and Mark Babb, from Ford Racing Experience, travelled 2449.15km in 24 hours in a dedicated LPG XT Falcon, averaging 102.05km/h around Christchurch's Ruapuna Park raceway.

It says it set records at the six-hour mark of 620.88km, 12-hour mark (1238.16km) and 18-hour mark (1858.23 kms) on the way to 1043 laps of the 2.35km circuit.

"This is a fantastic achievement for the Ford-Rockgas endurance challenge team and highlights LPG as a cheap, clean and user-friendly alternative fuel source," said Keith Sharp, director of FRE.

"We were extremely impressed with this standard Falcon road car - it was as tight and as strong at the end of the 24 hours as it was at the beginning. It didn't skip a beat, and we didn't even have to pop the bonnet to change the oil."

The Falcon has a tank capacity of 93 litres. The team used 850 litres over 24 hours, stopping 11 times to fuel up. Brake pads were changed three times.

LPG costs around 70c a litre.

Ford is the only car company in New Zealand that provides factory-fitted dedicated LPG sedans, wagons and utes. The record run will stand once it is ratified by Motorsport New Zealand.