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The B3 BiTurbo is the latest statement of speed from Alpina.
(Photo by Barry Hayden)
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The B3 BiTurbo has the stealth look that's popular in Germany, plus minor aero trim for high speed.
(Photo by Barry Hayden)
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Alpina has been one of the key brands for BMW speed worshippers since 1961.
(Photo by Barry Hayden)
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Two pedals only for an Alpina, as the company specializes in high-performance automatic transmissions.
(Photo by Barry Hayden)
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Road Test: First Drive Test
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First Drive: 2007 BMW Alpina B3 BiTurbo
Searching for Speed
By
David Vivian, Contributor
Date posted: 09-23-2007
Just give me some space, give me some speed. Chances are, it will come. This absurd, stinking, mind-numbing traffic jam can't go on forever. We're motionless on one of the few sections of German autobahn where it's legal to travel at unrestricted speed, one of the last places on earth that the 2007 BMW Alpina B3 BiTurbo makes sense.
We're not exactly sure how fast this Alpina-modified, 355-horsepower BMW 3 Series goes, but we know the speed will be honest and not an arbitrary electronically limited barrier. We want to feel that sublime moment when it stops accelerating.
It's only 20 miles to the Belgian border and time is running out. We're almost desperate to extract every last drop of forward momentum from the B3 BiTurbo, Alpina's take on BMW's 335i. It's strange because an Alpina doesn't usually make such extreme statements of speed like this.
Gentleman's Agreement
Every Alpina ever made has been fast, but an Alpina isn't defined by its headline-grabbing performance. Chasing the most impressive peak power figures and the quickest 0-100 kph (0-62 mph) times aren't abiding obsessions at Alpina HQ. It nearly always defers to BMW's own M Division in these areas, and the tuning company focuses on forced induction, increased torque and high-performance automatic transmissions.
The company's ethos revolves around building special automobiles for a small circle of cognoscenti, people who have a taste for exclusivity and the finer things in life. This includes a lightly veiled reference to fine wine, as Burkhard Bovensiepen has recently expanded his company into the wine business, a far cry from Alpina's beginnings in 1961 when Bovensiepen developed a Weber carburetor for the BMW 1500. All of it is located at the company's traditional site in the sleepy town of Buchloe, a 45-minute drive from Munich.
Maybe we should have chilled out by now. The new B3 is comfortable, refined and satisfying company whatever the speed, a low-stress device with which to trickle along in heavy traffic. It's been nothing but lovely from the moment Andy Bovensiepen handed over the keys at the factory. But with the new 2008 BMW M3 throwing down a 414-hp eight-cylinder gauntlet, we just had to know if the new 355-hp BMW Alpina B3 BiTurbo can defend itself in wheel-to-wheel combat.
Boost the Power
At dinner the night before in a small family-run hotel around the corner from the Alpina factory, we went over all the obvious topics, especially the engine modifications. Alpina takes the direct-injection, twin-turbo, 3.0-liter BMW inline-6, substitutes forged Mahle pistons to pump the compression ratio up to 9.4:1 and then remaps the electronics. Maximum boost of 16 psi produces 355 hp between 5,500 and 6,000 rpm and 369 pound-feet of torque between 3,800 and 5,000 rpm.
Just as important is the defining philosophy that leads Alpina to regard a twin-turbo 3.0-liter inline-6 as a better answer to the high-velocity 3 Series customer's prayers than a high-revving, normally aspirated 4.0-liter V8.
The short answer revolves around the advantages that can be wrought from the direct-injection technology of the 335i's engine. For more than a year, Alpina's engineers refined the engine map to accept a man-sized dose of forced induction from the two turbos. The result? A massively broad power band like a large-capacity V8, but with the advantages of a lightweight and noticeably thriftier straight-6.
Alpina's Automatic Style
Alpina has a penchant for automatic transmissions that are responsive enough to satisfy performance drivers, and the B3 has the latest ZF six-speeder. As before, the B3's steering wheel exchanges BMW's shift paddles for tiny nodule-style buttons on the back of the steering wheel spokes that are within easy reach of your fingers. What's new is the transmission's software, which allows high-rpm downshifts while you're braking from high speed into a corner.
The cabin environment of the B3 BiTurbo makes an impression with the quality of the leather (a cut above the 3 Series), the high-contrast upholstery color scheme (whatever you want, and taste isn't a prerequisite), exquisitely comfortable seats, Alpina's superb steering wheel with double-stitched leather on the rim, and the unique Alpina instruments with blue dial faces and red pointers.
But what really distinguishes Alpina from other BMW tuners goes far more than skin deep. For example, the B3 BiTurbo engine is built with one-third of its parts from BMW, one-third of its parts from BMW's suppliers and one-third of its parts from Alpina's suppliers. Once completed, the engine is sent to the relevant BMW factory for installation in what will become a B3, joined by all the other parts Alpina routes from its supplier chain. So your $90,500 Alpina B3 BiTurbo (on sale in October) is actually a BMW-built car.
Delayed Gratification
As we set off in the B3 BiTurbo, V-max doesn't feel like it's on the agenda. This isn't the sort of car that requires thrashing to within an inch of the Armco barriers at the Nürburgring to make you feel good. It doesn't do instant gratification. But it does gradual gratification, and the longer you drive it, the more it tightens its grip on your affections. It gets to 62 mph in 4.9 seconds, after all.
Although the steering loses a smidgen of its attractively beefy effort with increasing speed, it's eager to translate the driver's most fleeting requests into precise action. Gentle steering inputs from your wrists are faithfully answered, and communication from the road comes in a fluent, unfiltered stream.
The chassis doesn't show the faintest hint of nerves. Fine-tuned over thousands of miles by Andy Bovensiepen (a seasoned sedan racer), it seems to have a many-layered repertoire. Although the helm answers alertly and accurately, it filters out the bumps of poorly surfaced roads with unerring poise. Edges are rounded, ruts and holes are softened and bumps smothered. This 3,461-pound car has a finely judged balance of supple ride and firm suspension control that makes every bend satisfying.
Visually, the B3 BiTurbo is no M3, and it looks like its claws are retracted. Alpina clearly has a restrained in-house aesthetic, although it can be amplified or attenuated to suit personal tastes. This black B3 is more or less what the German market wants right now: maximum stealth. Although this car wears optional 19-inch wheels, German customers always choose the standard 18-inch wheels, as the 225/40R18 front and 255/35R18 rear Michelin Pilot Sport 2 tires deliver better ride comfort.
V-Max Attack
But within a few minutes, the traffic ahead miraculously clears, as if a strong wind had blown away a black-bellied thunder cloud. From a brisk dawdle, we floor the throttle and the BiTurbo motor reaches into its deep reserves of torque. No mere kick in the power curve, this; it's more like opening the taps on a dam.
By the time the B3 hits 130 mph, the transmission shifts up a cog and the acceleration blooms with another infusion of torque. The engine isn't just delivering on its promise but instead exceeding it by a breezy margin. All right, the pick-up probably isn't quite as scintillating as it would be in the high-revving, normally aspirated Audi RS4 or the new BMW M3 V8, but the Alpina has a weighty punch that might well knock them both silly.
And it's all so effortless, expressed with the kind of smoothness that makes you question if there's really any need for more than six cylinders and voiced with a cultured yet appealingly guttural blast from the exhaust. The engine's character is deceptive at first, as it seems to lack the killer instinct that distinguishes the predator from the pretender. But this is true broadband grunt, deep and fast-flowing.
Reaching the Max
The autobahn is starting to curve away into a gentle descent. Lifting might be a good idea, but taking advantage of the helping hand given by the slight gradient is probably a better one. It should be enough.
The speedo needle is soon sweeping (yes, sweeping) through the 170 mph mark and heading for the last lick of paint on the dial at 190. At an indicated 180 mph, we start thinking about the brakes; at 185 mph we're fighting the instinct to lift off.
We're not even sure the needle's moving now, but just before we get hard on the anchors, we flick a glance down at the dash: 189 mph. Probably a true 184 mph, the Alpina people tells us later. Worth the wait after all, then. And the 2007 BMW Alpina B3 BiTurbo is 29 mph faster than an M3 V8.
The manufacturer provided Edmunds this vehicle for the purposes of evaluation.
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