RE: Alpina XD3 and XD4 go on sale with 516lb ft

[ZX10R NIN]

996GT3_Matt said:

You are simply reinforcing all of the positive characteristics of diesel, which I wholly concur with. Daily commuting, congestion.. I get it.

My opening gambit was to question whether there is actually any joy to be had from extracting all of this torque? The responses seem to conclude not.

I hold no gripe with diesel whatsoever and I fully see the merits, but it remains a white good product for me perfect. Perfect for powring larger, and or luxurious vehicles but not a thing of joy.

Drive a D3 & there's genuine grin factor when making the most of its performance, you can happily step it out should you wish it corners amazingly well & the exhaust note is sweet too.

If you drive one you'll find they're a joyous car, is the B3 better? Yes it is but here's the thing if you're doing the miles you won't feel short changed.

[RSchneider]

The appeal of the high-torque Diesel comes from funny disconnect between rpm and performance, so in short psychology. But typically their power band is rather narrow and they have tall gearing (down to 12 : 1). Doing 100 km/h slightly above idle is charming, and long range 160 km/h cruising on the Autobahn below 2.000 rpm impressive. At higher speeds (200 km/h) they tend to be out-accellerated by equally strong gasoline turbos. Which is compensated by being able to do 700 km of elevated speed Autobahn driving on a single tank.

[Notanotherturbo]

Ares said:

Twin turbo. And they've been doing fine on depreciation since launch 8yrs ago?

My bad I was thinking it was based on the X550 lump - and my depreciation comment was sort of meant to refer to that

[Notanotherturbo]

kambites said:

Alpina don't have their own production lines do they? I thought they were made by BMW, albeit using some Alpina specific components.

Edited by kambites on Monday 20th August 20:03

I know I have 2 ;0)

[astrsxi77]

Perfect. Just perfect. Absolutely the vehicles of choice for...uh...well, someone of real taste* and individuality*. A true enthusiast’s auto. Five hundred pounds/foot of torque, jacked up over two tonnes into a pseudo off-road, high rider; ideal for sitting at the lights outside the business park. Purchase now for your aggressive commuting needs.
When drop my deposit on one of these tomorrow, I will be asking Alpina to make a couple of extra personalisations for me, chiefly dropping the Diesel and SUV elements, re-envisioning around an E30, and rebadging as B6 3.5.

[Burnham]

RSchneider said:

The appeal of the high-torque Diesel comes from funny disconnect between rpm and performance, so in short psychology. But typically their power band is rather narrow and they have tall gearing (down to 12 : 1). Doing 100 km/h slightly above idle is charming, and long range 160 km/h cruising on the Autobahn below 2.000 rpm impressive. At higher speeds (200 km/h) they tend to be out-accellerated by equally strong gasoline turbos. Which is compensated by being able to do 700 km of elevated speed Autobahn driving on a single tank.

Indeed...I drove my D3 from CZ to Bonn in one hit on Saturday, 480 miles non-stop and it was perfect. Happy to cruise at 110mph and still getting 40mpg. As quick as I needed it be...and the people who dont think a Diesel can be fun need to drive an Alpina Diesel. I enjoy it as much as I did my 911.

[Ranger 6]

Cherry picking a bit from the responses:

996GT3_Matt said:

....Call if ‘free revving’ or ‘sonorous’ whatever you will, but I imagine that the six cylinder variants are a little more pleasurable.

I’ve read good things about the 640D for example, but it’s always useful to experience feedback from the end user.

Yes, a six or eight cylinder diesel is a whole different thing to the noisy clattery 4 cylinder engines out there and I'm including some petrol ones in that.... There is a growl, albeit not like the petrol engines, and the power/torque delivery is the key, smooth and not bad to listen to.

aeropilot said:

...I've spent almost 40 years only driving n/a and petrol turbo engines until getting my first diesel, a 40d X5 last year, and it's 650Nm of torque certainly makes me giggle, given the way it shoves over 2Te down the road at a pace that it really shouldn't and with a nice 6 cyl diesel growl...... but then, I adore large capacity V8's, so I 'get' big torque engines, whether they are petrol or diesel.

This is the key - the way the BMW 35/40d engine propels the car down the road at a simply ridiculous pace is a hoot and the nearest thing I can compare it to is a big capacity V8. Combined with the ZF 8-speed a cross country journey can be conducted very swiftly and without all the screaming drama of a high-revving engine which can attract unwanted attention and finger pointing these days.

[aeropilot]

Ranger 6 said:

aeropilot said:

...I've spent almost 40 years only driving n/a and petrol turbo engines until getting my first diesel, a 40d X5 last year, and it's 650Nm of torque certainly makes me giggle, given the way it shoves over 2Te down the road at a pace that it really shouldn't and with a nice 6 cyl diesel growl...... but then, I adore large capacity V8's, so I 'get' big torque engines, whether they are petrol or diesel.

This is the key - the way the BMW 35/40d engine propels the car down the road at a simply ridiculous pace is a hoot and the nearest thing I can compare it to is a big capacity V8. Combined with the ZF 8-speed a cross country journey can be conducted very swiftly and without all the screaming drama of a high-revving engine which can attract unwanted attention and finger pointing these days.

And in reality, it's way better than an equivalent n/a V8.
Last year I spent a week with a Chevy Tahoe V8, which although somewhat heavier than the X5, it's 5.3 litre LS V8 engine felt positively lethargic in comparison to the BMW diesel, despite on paper having 40 more horsepower. However, what the point in having 355hp at 5600rpm in a 2.5Te+ SUV, that also only has 520Nm of torque at a lofty 4100rpm.......it was almost the perfect miss-match of engine to vehicle.

The Alpina engine on the other hand...........

Edited by aeropilot on Wednesday 22 August 08:41

Edited by aeropilot on Wednesday 22 August 12:12

[BlackLabel]

I see Sytner Sheffield now have a xd3 for sale.

https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...

[Glasgowrob]

have to admit i have a huge soft spot for Alpina,

but money no object would be a Brabus GLS 850