Alpina B3 pricing confirmed | Update
The 462hp B3 costs 81,250 euros at home - so expect it to start from around £70k in UK
With a little over a month before production of Alpina’s 462hp B3 officially kicks off, the German performance brand has announced prices for both the saloon and Touring models. Now appearing on the firm's configurator in Germany, Alpina’s G20-based B3 will cost from €81,250, equating to about £68,600, while the Touring is €83,050. Accounting for import costs and the UK’s slightly higher tax rate, it’s therefore fair to assume a starting figure of just over £70k for the B3 in Britain - which would place the model right alongside AMG’s eight-cylinder C63.
As we know from history, however, Alpinas aren’t directly comparable to the segment’s usual performance machinery. They occupy their own, slightly leftfield space – and this one certainly looks equipped to continue the trend. It uses a bi-turbo version of BMW’s single turbo S58 3.0-litre, giving it more power than even the CS versions of BMW’s last M3/M4. We've pretty high hopes for Alpina’s chassis work, too, not least because the team in Buchloe has a habit of producing great handling cars that also ride beautifully.
Right-hand drive versions of the latest B3 aren’t due in the UK until June or July, so we’ve a few more months to wait before finding out if the Alpina magic has been carried through to latest G20 platform. BMW’s sporting take on the same platform, the saloon and coupe only M3 and M4, will then arrive in late 2020 with an anticipated 500hp output. But don’t be surprised if Alpina’s B3 duo remain the most-rounded performance offering from the latest 3 Series family for years to come…
Previous story: 23.10.2019
Alpina revealed its new B3 Bi-Turbo in Touring form at last month’s Frankfurt show, the 462hp and 516lb ft estate immediately securing PH hearts and minds. A saloon variant was expected to follow soon after and, not ones to let us down, the German tuner has used this week’s Tokyo event to unveil exactly that.
Powered by the same fettled version of BMW's 3.0-litre six-cylinder petrol engine, the saloon unsurprisingly produces the same output figures, though its 188mph top speed pips that of the Touring by a whole 2mph. No 0-62 time was released for the estate car, but we wouldn’t be surprised if the saloon’s time of 3.8 seconds was also a tenth or so quicker.
As for the rest of Alpina’s upgrades, it’s as you were from the Touring detailed below. The biggest difference being in the fact that, while the Touring scratches an itch no longer dealt with by BMW itself, the saloon will have the upcoming G80 M3 to contend with. With over 500hp expected from that car, Alpina’s super saloon may be facing its stiffest competition yet (in every sense).
Previous story - 10.09.2019
At any motor show, it's pretty much guaranteed that Alpina will emerge with a lightly enhanced BMW to make everything else look a bit daft. And here we are again - the Defender will grab the headlines and BMW's own concept is certainly bold, but it's the Alpina B3 that probably appeals most as an actual car. It follows the usual formula, which is no bad thing: take a flagship 3 Series, make it more luxurious, more dynamic and more powerful, paint it a cool colour and admire the result.
There's been a great deal of speculation around the latest G20-era Alpina models, with all those questions now able to be answered. Most interesting is the engine, because this B3 uses the new 2,993cc S58 straight-six- the one destined for the next M3 - and not the 2,998cc B58 as found in the Supra, Z4 and M340i. So it makes its peak power of 462hp higher and for longer than any of those B58 cars (from 5,000-7,000rpm), with torque of 516lb ft from 3,000rpm. Alpina says the B3 is capable of more than 186mph, and that this is the first Buchloe product designed with the 0-124mph sprint in mind; there isn't a time yet, although a "breathtaking" experience is promised.
Modifications over the M340i xDrive are predictably expansive. Alpina believes a B3 delivers "superior road holding, balanced handling and pronounced agility" over its (very good) predecessor thanks to wider tracks, greater suspension and chassis rigidity and more negative camber up front. There are new springs from Eibach, "enhanced" variable sports steering, a bespoke map for the automatic box (with proper paddles, at last!), 395mm front brake discs and an optional forged 20-inch wheel - saving 14kg in unsprung mass over regular rims.
Cosmetically, the B3 is marked out by the usual range of Alpina enhancements, including new intakes, four exhausts and reworked splitters to improve the aerodynamic balance, plus the Alpina Green and Alpina Blue colours that are unique to its cars. Lavalina leather is smothered over the cabin, with all manner of colour choices said to be available.
For the German market, Alpina says the car will be available to order from the first quarter of 2020 as a Touring, with deliveries commencing in the summer. We'd expect UK B3s to follow soon after, hopefully at least in time to show off the benefits of xDrive on slippery autumn roads...
Hopefully there’s a few of us around who still think an estate wagon is a much better car than an SUV. This will quite happily run the wife and kids around six days a week, but be a little bit of fun on a quiet Sunday morning.
Handsome thing, and something I would love in my garage (if the price is right).
Talking of price, I’m guessing that Alpina offers zero discounts, unlike the offerings from BMW?
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