Alpina B3 slinks its way to eighth in MOTOR’s Performance Car of the Year 2022

Stealth bomber with a stereo! The Alpina B3 flys under the radar to finish eight at MOTOR’s Performance Car of the Year 2022.

At the end of five days of testing you’d think the five judges would have had their fill. And yet we were all left slightly green with envy as we watched MOTOR’s art director Damien drive off into the sunset behind the wheel of the Alpina B3.

The Alpina arrived at PCOTY 2022 laden with more questions than answers. Would its more discreet personality compared to the M3 be its downfall, or would it prove to be everything people wished from a more refined M product? In the end, the two Bavarians walk entirely divergent paths, something perhaps best illustrated by their finishing places in this year’s competition.

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Sharing the same engine and chassis, how can the Alpina and BMW M3’s results be so different? It’s more a result of Alpina’s impressive reworking than anything else. To a layperson, even with the cars side-by-side and driving the cars back-to-back, few would clue into the B3 and M3’s shared lineage.

Designed to demolish the autobahn with a hammer made of pure torque, some expected the B3 to fall short dynamically on our fast test route. Yet it was here that many became enamoured by its subtle and endearing nature. It’s steering isn’t as incisive as the M3, but then you do get all-wheel drive capability. The ZF eight-speed auto is better utilised here than in the Jag, and makes a perfect pairing with Alpina’s version of the S58.

Phillip Island proved to be a mixed hunting ground for the B3. Judges praised its corner exit stability and ability to ride that towering wave of torque but the softer adaptive suspension tune, with a steel-spring set-up, was never quite at home. Worst was the lack of proper seat bolstering that had legs making crashing impacts with both the door card and transmission tunnel. Most exited the B3’s luxurious cabin rubbing their knees in sympathy.

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Make no mistake, the B3 is fiercely rapid in a straight line, even giving the 911 GT3 a hurry-up during performance testing. “If you really get after it, the B3 has teeth,” Andy says, adding “you can get on the gas so early in the corner it’s not funny.”

Bernie took a liking to the initial turbo lag feel to the way the engine initially got onto boost – a result of the Alpina-specific turbochargers fitted to the S58 engine – stating “it’s super refined and super fast”. Trent reckoned this was the PCOTY contender that provided the greatest on-road reward for the least amount of work.

Yes, it came eighth, but even being worthy of an invite – an offer not extended to many – puts the B3 in rarefied air. Ask any of the judges which car they wanted to drive home at the end of the best week of the year. And to think we let the crayon twirler escape in it.

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The judges’ comments

Alex Affat

“Has its own endearing character and shines as a fast cross-country tourer. Bit too soft for the track.”

Ranking: 8th

Andy Enright

“If the B3 was any lower key, we’d have forgotten where we parked it. Huge thrust and so, so subtle.”

Ranking: 8th

Trent Giunco

“The work that Alpina’s done on the S58’s turbos has given the B3 a rangy, loping gait that the M3 can’t equal.”

Ranking: 7th

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Cameron Kirby

“The Alpina is a torque monster. It’s a limousine that delivers the most phenomenal gut-rush.”

Ranking: 8th

Bernie Quinn

“An interstate missile. The engine’s strong with a little bit of old school lag/rush. I don’t mind that.”

Ranking: 7th

Luffy’s view

“It’s all about rotating the B3 as quickly as possible so you can get back onto the throttle and use all of the drive on corner exit.”

The key figures