For those who aren’t familiar, Alpina is a BMW-sanctioned aftermarket tuner. Although it started off as a small independent BMW performance tuner, Alpina has grown over the years. Now, in fact, Alpina doesn’t even really build its own models. It works alongside BMW designers from the start of a new model to develop performance improvements of its own.
Once Alpina has spec’d out its desired performance modifications, it hands the plans over to BMW. BMW then assembles the Alpina models in BMW factories, painting them in Alpina colors and installing the distinctive 20-inch Alpina rims and then hands them over to Alpina for sale.
News has come from Autocar this morning that Alpina is up to its old tricks again and has a new B3 Biturbo model ready for debut at next week’s Geneva Auto Show.
Based upon the new BMW 3 Series, the B3 produces 404 horsepower from a twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter inline six-cylinder engine. Sending power to the rear wheels is BMW’s eight-speed automatic transmission. If you were wondering why the performance modified BMW 3 Series would include an automatic gearbox, realize that’s just what Alpina has always done. Every Alpina model is an automatic. Just get used to it.
The new B3 will hit 62 mph from a standstill in 4.2 second and reach a top speed of 190 MPH. Autocar is reporting an all-wheel drive version of the B3 is on the way but until we hear it directly from Alpina, we won’t hold our breath.
Pricing has not been confirmed for the B3 but it’ll probably near the $80,000 mark. We drove the Alpina B7 version of the 7 Series last year on the infamous Laguna Seca racetrack in California and were blown away by both its price tag and performance. While Alpinas – like any good German car – don’t look very flashy, they’re very, very fast. And we love them for it.
