Everybody’s favourite BMW tuning house Alpina has confirmed its latest flagship, the Alpina B8 Gran Coupe will make its way to Australian shores with a price tag of $322,900.
The first-ever Alpina B8 Gran Coupe is scheduled to arrive in July, and is set to impress its future owners with its revised powertrain compared with the BMW M850i donor car, tuned suspension setup, and subtle styling tweaks for that unique Alpina look.
In terms of its powertrain, Alpina has installed larger twin-scroll turbochargers to the 4.4-litre V8 unit, as well as a stainless steel quad exhaust system and larger intercoolers to keep those turbos under control. The result of these tweaks is 457kW between 5500-6500rpm, and peak torque figure of 800Nm available from just 2000rpm.
Feeding through an eight-speed automatic transmission that sends power to the rear-biased all-wheel drive system, and a limited-slip differential, 0-100km/h comes up in just 3.4 seconds, and the top speed is in the range of 324km/h.
Both the front and rear axles have Eibach springs, with new hydro front strut mounts for the wishbone suspension setup and a reinforced front sway bar for increased stiffness through the bends. Alpina’s active steering system allows for up to 2.3-degrees of lateral movement from the rear wheels to help pivot around tight bends, and there’s a special adaptive damper system with a comfort plus setting added.
For those interested, the Alpina B8 Gran Coupe has a combined cycle figure of 11.9L/100km on the stringent WLTP standard, with CO2 rated at 254g/km. Alpina Automobiles Australia sales manager, Phil Jeffery, said:
“In the B8, Alpina has managed to deliver unique elegance and supreme luxury with absolutely no compromise to performance. It is a truly fitting flagship for the Alpina range in Australia.”
Around the body, there’s a number of styling tweaks unique to the B8 Gran Coupe, including a front spoiler and rear diffuser, as well as aerodynamic additions all around the bodywork. A set of 20-spoke, 21-inch Alpina alloy wheels complete the look.
Interestingly, Alpina is offering customers the choice of aluminium, walnut anthracite, carbon fibre and piano black interior trims as a no-cost option, for that added personal touch. Standard features include four-zone climate control, night vision with pedestrian recognition, 16-speaker Harman Kardon surround sound system, panoramic glass sunroof, heated seats, leather upholstery, ambient lighting, adaptive ride control settings, as well as a wireless phone charging.
The B8 Gran Coupe is covered by a three-year, unlimited kilometre warranty in Australia, and comes with complimentary roadside assistance for the aforementioned price tag of $322,990 (plus on-road costs). Alpina says the first deliveries are expected to arrive in local showrooms by July this year.
