AC is Schnitz out of luck. One of the oldest BMW performance and tuning companies, which also works on Mini and Land Rover models, is going out of business. AC Schnitzer made the announcement earlier today. The company blamed a wide range of issues, including US tariffs, and more expensive material costs, and had one glaring realization. That it, and the tuning industry as a whole, is failing to inspire younger customers the way they once did. Brand Was One Of The Original BMW Tuners AC Schnitzer If you're a long-time BMW fan, you definitely know the AC Schnitzer name. The German company has been tuning the brand's cars since it unveiled a modified E32-generation 7 Series way back in 1987. Since then, the company has delivered complete cars including the V8-powered Z3 called the V8 Roadster. When Mini joined the BMW Group, it got AC Schnitzer support, and even the Supra's BMW engine shared the love with horsepower upgrades.But now, company managing director Rainer Volgel has a long list of headwinds the company's horses can no longer push against. Among them, tariffs and material costs to exhange rates and "a global economy that has been weakening for years." Volgel also pointed a finger at German regulations, claiming that they were holding the company back. He said that "if we bring aftermarket parts to market eight or nine months after the competition [because of German approvals], that speaks for itself."The company was founded in Aachen, Germany, the source of the AC in the name. Herbert Schnitzer, who co-founded the company with Willi Kohl, got the other half of the name. A Long Line Of Wild Models AC Schnitzer AC Schnitzer plans to keep selling off inventory until the end of the year, so you might find some deals on BMW tuning bits. The company is looking to keep the tuning arm alive, if it can find a buyer. The Kohl Group said it is in talks with interested parties about buying the brand, so it's possible that the name could live on even if the product is different.We'll miss the company's performance models. They were often very off-beat, like the Z4-based ACZ4 5.0d which ditched the Z4's stock four-cylinder and crammed in a tri-turbo N57 diesel I6. It then tuned the engine to 430 horsepower and 620 pound-feet of torque to create what it called "the fastest diesel on the Sachsenring" referring to a track in Germany.AC Schnitzer It also made a special 10th anniversary present for itself of a BMW 3-Series Compact with a 3.2-liter I6 instead of the 1.6-liter four. That one made 260 horsepower.The company was also known for its series of concept police cars. It built a series of these over the last two decades as part of the Tune It! Safe! campaign that looked to raise awareness of building safe modified cars using approved parts, as well as safe driving of said modified cars.The rest of the Kohl Group will remain intact. The company is a dealer group in Germany that sells and services new and used vehicles as well as motorcycles.