BMW Alpina B5 Biturbo 2018 Review - carsales.com.au (original) (raw)
Famous BMW tuner carves out its own niche with luxury car that can keep an M5 honest
Model Tested
BMW Alpina B5 BiTurbo AWD
Review Type
International Launch
Review Location
Buchloe, Germany
Alpina for more than half a century has become an expert at carving out small, lucrative niches in BMW's high-performance armoury. For good reason, while M cars were race-bred, high-revving, highly-strung sports sedans and coupes, Alpinas were engineered to be equally fast but more luxurious and relaxing for the MD in a hurry. Unfortunately, it now seems BMW has fallen for Alpina's charms - witness the latest M5. Not only does it come with a conventional auto and a torquey turbo V8, it bags all-wheel drive. On paper then, the BMW M5 and the new (more expensive) B5 Biturbo have never been closer. Read on to find out if the new M5 renders its Alpina opposition obsolete.
Selling just 1700 cars annually, Alpina knows its customers better than most. That's why it doesn't fixate on Nurburgring lap times. Its buyers aren't interested, you see.
Instead, Alpina knows owners of its B3, B4, B5 or B7 desire a car that is both fast and luxurious, and effortless but involving — a car they can drive without the fatigue associated with making a car overtly 'sporty'.
It's why, unlike M car owners, many Alpina drivers rack up 30,000km or more per year in Europe.
Until now, Australian buyers have had the choice of just the luxurious 7 Series-based B7 and more attainable B3 and B4 that are both spun-off the 3 Series.
That changes with the arrival of the F10 5 Series sedan-based B5 Biturbo this April.
Going head-to-head with the excellent new BMW M5, which has done nothing short of redefining the super sedan segment (again), the B5 Biturbo will have its work cut out to make a sales impression.
It doesn't help that, in the metal, Alpina's latest creation is utterly underwhelming at first glimpse.
If you miss the deep front splitter, large 20-inch turbine alloys and lower ride height, we'd wager few would guess the large sports sedan is capable of hitting 100km/h in just 3.5 seconds and 200km/h in a staggering 11.4, before topping out a supercar-bothering 330km/h.
The subtle look is deliberate. Alpina owners, apparently, value the low-key approach to design that doesn't raise eyebrows when using their car for business.
Changes aplenty
The B5 begins life as the M550i, which is available in Europe but not Australia, and it's safe to say the changes over the standard BMW sport sedan are comprehensive.
Included in more than 30 months of development time was 40,000km of track testing, 160,000km of road driving,1500km at the B5's maximum speed and 2000km shakedown miles at the Nurburgring.
The B5 was tested alongside other BMW prototypes everywhere from the Arctic Circle to Nevada USA's Death Valley. That means the B5 undergoes the same level of durability testing as any other BMW.
That's reassuring since squeezing an incredible 447kW/800Nm from a 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8 (an 107kW/150Nm over the regular M550i) is no mean feat.
To produce the power, Alpina developed a completely new cold-air intake system, redesigned the entire cooling system and added a pair of twin-scroll Garret turbocharger that are fed through a larger intercooler.
Finally, the engine gets uprated Mahle pistons, higher compression and new spark plugs, plus an engine remap.
Interestingly, the attempts to liberate more thrust were so successful the 800Nm torque peak exceeds the capability of the standard ZF eight-speed automatic, so Alpina had to reengineer the 'box to include tougher internals including a beefier torque converter.
Now featuring bespoke gear ratios and better cooling, the Bavarian firm managed to coax even faster shifts and include a launch control feature in the ZF, although Alpina only allows 100 aggressive launches in its lifetime before the transmission deletes the function for durability reasons.
To improve handling, the M550i's suspension was effectively junked. New aluminium parts were added to the front to allow differing geometry, cutting understeer.
Firmer springs sourced from Eibach and new adaptive dampers, from Bilstein, were combined with stiffer bushings for better steering feel and suspension responses.
The all-new 20-inch forged alloys, meanwhile, are claimed to save 3kg per corner while Pirelli co-developed the high-performance P Zero tyres especially for Alpina.
Unfortunately, the new tyres' speed rating meant Alpina had to take the unprecedented step of limiting the B5 to 330km/h, although engineers happily admit during testing the super sedan exceeded 340km/h on numerous occasions.
Channelling its power to the road through BMW xDrive all-wheel drive, the B5 can divert up to 75 per cent of its power and torque to the rear wheels and up to 90 per cent with the stability control in its loosest setting.
Unlike the M5, there's no rear-wheel drive-only mode, with Alpina viewing the BMW M feature as a bit of a gimmick.
Two bits of tech the Alpina gets that the M5 doesn't include active roll stabilisation and four-wheel steering. Both have been re-calibrated for the B5.
Carbon ceramic brakes, meanwhile, are not an option as Alpina thinks its owners are unlikely to ever track their car, but a high-performance composite brake package will be available.
Boosting stability, the B5 went back in BMW's wind tunnel for tweaks to its active aero, which now comprises a new front splitter, a subtle front windscreen spoiler (for those who like to drive at 300+km/h with the sun roof open) and a few other choice aero aids to cope with high-speed cruising.
On the road
Behind the wheel, the B5 feels a cut above its fellow M5, from its cool blue instrument cluster (that can be customised for its driving modes) to our car's bespoke interior, which came with a selection of premium leathers, woods and trims only Rolls-Royce buyers would be familiar with.
With 80 per of the car built on the production line, it takes Alpina around a month per car to hand finish each B5 and, sitting in its luxurious cabin, you can feel it in the soft-touch leather, the thinner-rimmed Alpina wheel and the impeccable build quality.
With the chance of driving the B5 on some of Bavaria's finest roads and autobahn, our first acquaintance with the low-volume M5 rival should have been an event to savour.
Unfortunately, 5cm of snow overnight does its best to ruin our chance for a full appraisal of the B5. Luckily, the day before, we had the chance to drive from the airport on an autobahn in cold but dry conditions before the blizzard kicked in.
Initially, considering how powerful it is, the B5 feels an enigma. The steering is light but direct, with the four-wheel steering adding plenty of extra agility in town. But, if I'm honest, the Alpina doesn't scream about its Porsche-slaying capabilities.
Feeling more luxury limo than supercar botherer, the B5 is whisper-quiet. Reaching the autobahn, it soon finds its voice when the peace and tranquillity is shattered by a snarling V8.
From a standard start, acceleration is nothing less than astonishing for a car that weighs in at 2015kg.
It delivers almost Tesla-like thrust off the line, acceleration remains relentless above 100km/h and, with the needle arching past 150km/h, there's still little sign of things tailing off. Only beyond 200 do you get a sense of acceleration waning.
This all sounds irrelevant for Australian drivers, but all that performance translates into a car that can cruise in near silence at 110km/h with the engine turning over at just 1400rpm.
At these speeds, Alpina claims it's possible to easily better BMW's official claimed 10.5L/100km fuel economy average, although we didn't get the chance to verify those claims.
The next day with deep snow under foot, we're instantly grateful for the B5's Pirelli Sottozero 2 winter tyres and Alpina's decision to go all-wheel drive with its latest B5.
The last version was rear-drive, but the new car's 800Nm torque peak ruled that option out.
Sure footed
Watching a B4 coupe fishtail wildly up a steady incline for more than 200 metres isn't the most reassuring sight to greet us as we select Drive and ease the 447kW B5 up the same road. But what sounds like a disaster waiting to happen never quite occurs.
Traction is astonishing, even on deep compacted snow. What is more of an issue is the lack of braking and cornering grip and managing all that weight.
Instantly we can confirm the overt rear-wheel drive bias of the all-wheel drive system, but the snow highlights some niggles with the Alpina's handling repertoire.
Compounding a lack of confidence was the B5's four-wheel steering system, which made the large sedan feel nervous and on edge in these sub-zero conditions, where the rear wheels gave the impression of tiny slides.
It's an unsettling experience and demands the driver to trust the car (and the tyres).
We'll reserve judgment on whether the Alpina has what it takes, dynamically, to see off rivals like the M5, Audi RS 6 and Mercedes-AMG E 63 S, but what is impressive is both the roll stabilisation feature that sees the B5 corner flatly and the ride quality on offer at the same time.
Engineers set out to make the B5 the most comfortable of its peers and its seems they have achieved it, although in its softest Comfort Plus setting the ride can seem a little too undamped and choppy.
In the snow, throttle response is scalpel-sharp even in Comfort mode, although it's still possible to drive the B5 smoothly.
In almost all driving conditions the beefier ZF auto 'box is a masterclass of seamless shifting -- unless you're crawling along on congested roads, where, just occasionally, in second gear there can be some unwanted jerkiness.
The verdict
After hours of trying to escape the clutches of winter we give up and return to Alpina's HQ, yearning to experience the B5 again in conditions more comparable to Australia.
From our first impressions, the beauty of the B5 is its ability to blend luxury with near supercar levels of performance for almost half the price of its B7 brother.
Is it better than an M5? Hard to tell in these conditions but the B5 is at the very least a charming alternative -- even at a cool $40,000 more than the BMW M flagship.
The biggest complaint is BMW Australia isn't bringing the best version.
The B5 Biturbo Touring has been ruled out because of homologation issues. Shame, because Alpina's more spacious wagon version could very well be the ultimate fast family car.
2018 Alpina B5 Biturbo pricing and specifications:
Price: circa $210,000 plus on-road costs
On sale: April 2018
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo petrol V8
Output: 447kW/800Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel: 10.5L/100km
CO2: 240g/km
Safety rating: Not tested
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