The latest generation of the Alpina B3 arrived with a storm at the Tokyo Auto Show in October 2019 bringing a heavily reworked 3.0-litre engine and a sporty appearance. The performance saloon’s main goal is to bridge the gap between the M340i xDrive and the M3 Competition.
We know the cars Alpina makes are fast, very fast. Sport Auto wanted to find out exactly how fast the new B3 is and took the saloon to the Nurburgring for a quick lap. With test driver Christian Gebhardt behind the wheel and riding on Pirelli P Zero ALP tires, the B3 registered a time of 7:53.26 minutes. Not terrible, not great.
Gallery: 2020 Alpina B3 Saloon
A quick comparison with other cars in the 7:50-minute range shows the saloon is quicker than the BMW M2 and BMW F10 M5 Competition, but slower than the previous generation BMW M4 and the BMW M2 Competition. This shouldn't really come as a surprise as the curb weight of the tested car was 1,797 kilograms.
Under the bonnet, the new B3 has a 3.0-litre twin-turbo engine producing 462 bhp and 516 lb-ft of torque. Thanks to this, it is able to hit 62 miles per hour from a standstill in just 3.8 seconds all the way up to a respectable 188 mph top speed. The 0 to 124 mph sprint takes 13.4 seconds.
All you need to know about the B3:
Honestly, we are not disappointed with the new B3’s Nurburgring time but we are not thrilled either. Despite the numerous upgrades over a stock M430i xDrive, including fully adaptive dampers, Eibach springs, and bigger stabilizer bars, the Alpina B3 remains behind cars like the Volvo S60 Polestar and Alfa Romeo Stelvio QV.
Source: Sport Auto