Thursday 19th June 2014

Alpina B4 Bi-Turbo on sale

Not tempted by an M4 in either guise? Alpina once again has another way

---

"We are not trying to compete with cars that must also perform well on a track". Short of simply stating "the B4 Bi-Turbo just isn't a BMW M4 rival", Alpina couldn't be much more blatant in its intention for the new cars you see here.

Trip to the coast anyone?

That intro quote comes from Alpina GB sales manager Matthew Stripling, who also states that customers "value the finely-honed feel of a bespoke car and the easily accessible performance that comes with substantial torque available at almost any engine speed" so let's discuss the motor. It's the same as found in the B3 saloon, with 410hp, 443lb ft and 0-62mph in 4.2 seconds (4.5 for the lardier cabrio). Which ideally suits its not-an-M4 remit; less power than the BMW but more torque, similar acceleration and lower CO2 (177g/km for the coupe against 194g/km for a DCT M4).

The tweaks under the skin of the B4 are similar to those found in the B3 and D3. The dampers are stock items but retuned with 40 per cent stiffer springs and bespoke ARBs, bushings and bump stops. Brakes are 370mm at the front and 345mm at the rear, sat behind those iconic Alpina wheels, here 20 inches in diameter.

A busy high street in Alpina town

Without the trick components of the M4, the Alpina is heavier. The coupe is 1,615kg unladen (compared to 1,612kg for a DCT M4 with a driver) and the cabrio 1,840kg, against a 1,750kg kerbweight for the M4 convertible.

Alpina will show the the B4 Bi-Turbo publically for the first time at the Festival of Speed. Should it take your fancy, Alpina will ask £58,950 for a coupe and £62,950 for the cabrio.

[TheBigUnit]

A performance car with no track pretensions. That's something that plenty of other manufacturers could learn from.

[theJT]

TheBigUnit said:

A performance car with no track pretensions. That's something that plenty of other manufacturers could learn from.

All of this. Over and over.

It's like the Jaguars of old. I want to get where I'm going very quickly, and I want to be able to put my foot down and blow past any other traffic with total ease. I also want to get there with my spine in one piece, and without having to make a big song and dance about it on the way.

[Fetchez la vache]

theJT said:

TheBigUnit said:

A performance car with no track pretensions. That's something that plenty of other manufacturers could learn from.

All of this. Over and over.

It's like the Jaguars of old. I want to get where I'm going very quickly, and I want to be able to put my foot down and blow past any other traffic with total ease. I also want to get there with my spine in one piece, and without having to make a big song and dance about it on the way.

This. With knobs on.

[vtecyo]

Glorious. Want.

[Deutscheblonde]

That coupe.

I see a tired looking E46 B3 on the way to work most days. Even with it's scuffed alloys and dented body it still makes me turn my head.

[mwstewart]

Given this and the M3/4 are both turbo powered, the Alpina argument about accessible torque is really null and void, especially given the M3/4 have been designed to be responsive. In view of that this just looks like a tarted up 'SE' with some old fashioned wheels.

I'd take the M4.

[AlpinaB5s]

Wow, the convertible does take elegance to the next level in terms of BMW.

It is perhaps what the BMW LUX pack should have been.

[anonymous-user]

mwstewart said:

In view of that this just looks like a tarted up 'SE' with some old fashioned wheels.

Most predictable response goes to..........

[Pixelpeep]

mwstewart said:

this just looks like a tarted up 'SE' with some old fashioned wheels.

And for exactly that reason people who don't like shouty performance will rip dealers hands off for these

[gumsie]

St John Smythe said:

Most predictable response goes to..........

It’s true. Most of the people that comment upon how the B4 is beter and Alpina know what they’re doing and how to design/tune forget that BMW have done all that, which is how Alpina actually have the base upon which to work.

[mwstewart]

St John Smythe said:

Most predictable response goes to..........

I'm unsure why you feel the need to post rolleyes; my post was purely objective. If my response was somehow predicable then there is obviously more than a general consensus.

[mwstewart]

Pixelpeep said:

And for exactly that reason people who don't like shouty performance will rip dealers hands off for these

Really, a 4 series? It's hardly a shrinking violet in any trim level, is it? Let alone on 20" 'rims' and a white leather interior with blue piping!

If that's what a buyer really wanted they could get a very nice used V8 Vantage.

[JohnGoodridge]

Fetchez la vache said:

theJT said:

TheBigUnit said:

A performance car with no track pretensions. That's something that plenty of other manufacturers could learn from.

All of this. Over and over.

It's like the Jaguars of old. I want to get where I'm going very quickly, and I want to be able to put my foot down and blow past any other traffic with total ease. I also want to get there with my spine in one piece, and without having to make a big song and dance about it on the way.

This. With knobs on.

Yes, yes, and thrice, yes.

[Pixelpeep]

mwstewart said:

Pixelpeep said:

And for exactly that reason people who don't like shouty performance will rip dealers hands off for these

Really, a 4 series? It's hardly a shrinking violet in any trim level, is it? Let alone on 20" 'rims'.

I thought it just looked like an SE with old wheels?

[mwstewart]

Pixelpeep said:

I thought it just looked like an SE with old wheels?

You omitted the key part 'tarted up'. The regular model looks more dignified.

[counterofbeans]

mwstewart said:

St John Smythe said:

Most predictable response goes to..........

I'm unsure why you feel the need to post rolleyes; my post was purely subjective.

EFA

[mwstewart]

counterofbeans said:

EFA

FBI

[kambites]

TheBigUnit said:

A performance car with no track pretensions. That's something that plenty of other manufacturers could learn from.

Very much so. When I buy a car I buy it for road use, I don't want its road manners to have been ruined by the manufacturer chasing track times.

The wheels are far too big, though. 18s (or 17s) would be better looking (and quite possibly dynamically better too), IMO.

Edited by kambites on Thursday 19th June 13:31

[Pixelpeep]

mwstewart said:

Pixelpeep said:

I thought it just looked like an SE with old wheels?

You omitted the key part 'tarted up'. The regular model looks more dignified.

Yes, but the M4 looks more tarted up than this. Hence the B4 is the relatively 'understated' performance 4 series

[mwstewart]

Pixelpeep said:

Yes, but the M4 looks more tarted up than this. Hence the B4 is the relatively 'understated' performance 4 series

I don't think the M cars look tarted up necessarily, just more purposeful. The styling approach though aggressive does at least appear holistic, which is on contrast to the Alpina with its wheels and splitters that like an afterthought.