Australia's most popular car can now be powered by a state-of-the-art Liquid LPG injection system (LLi) that provides petrol equivalent power and torque - but with fewer emissions and much lower running costs.

The Commodore kit, developed by Orbital Autogas Systems at the company's advanced engine labs in Perth, achieves comparable performance by injecting LPG into the engine's inlet manifold as a liquid rather than as a gas.

Orbital's tests show no drop in the vehicle's power output when running on LPG liquid injection compared to petrol.

Orbital says that power on a VZ Commodore V8, for example, remains unchanged at 250kW.

The tests also show the Liquid LPG injection system reduces CO₂ emissions compared to Holden's petrol-powered 6.0-litre V8 and 3.6-litre V6 engines - by up to 10 per cent.

"The Orbital LLi system overcomes one of the key barriers to consumer acceptance of older-technology LPG engine conversions - concern about a possible reduction in engine performance," says Orbital Autogas Systems' business development manager Phil Westlake.

"The technical superiority of Liquid LPG injection, combined with Orbital's internationally renowned in-house engineering expertise, means our systems are fully developed and thoroughly tested for driveability.

"Simply put, the car feels no different to drive."

Where motorists will notice the difference, says Mr Westlake, is at the service station, where an LLi-equipped Commodore can cost less to fill up.

"According to FUELtrac data, the average capital city unleaded petrol price crept up to $1.32 in May 2010 whilst LPG remained steady at $0.66.

"At these prices a motorist travelling 25,000 kilometres annually will save more than $1500 a year.

"Orbital's LLi system uses only the highest quality components from global suppliers like Continental and Vialle, so that the vehicle's reliability is never compromised," Mr Westlake said.

"Because each LLi kit is engineered to complement the existing fuel system, any additional servicing costs associated with older-technology LPG systems are eliminated.

"Added to the lower refuelling costs, overall running costs are substantially reduced with the LLi system," he said.

Orbital LLi retrofit kits are now available for Commodore VE V6 and VZ V8 (both sedan and ute models), as well as Statesman long wheelbase WL and WM models.

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