Alpina's 457kW B8 Gran Coupe coming to Oz!

The sleek and hugely powerful Alpina B8 Gran Coupe autobahn crusher is headed to Australia with local pricing and specification confirmed ahead of its July arrival.

Based on the BMW M850i Gran Coupe, the B8 GC increases performance and luxury while incorporating Alpina’s unique ride and handling philosophy.

One of Alpina’s aims is to cover any niche gaps in the BMW range and the B8 GC is priced accordingly. At $322,900, it neatly splits the different between BMW’s $280,900 M850i GC and $354,900 M8 GC.

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The B8 GC is covered by a three-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty with complimentary roadside assistance during this period and can be serviced at official BMW dealerships.

In an interview with MOTOR Alpina CEO Andreas Bovensiepen explained the decision to introduce the B8 into the Australian market: “We like to have a presence in the large luxury car segment and our philosophy with very powerful, very torquey cars I think can be very well displayed in these kinds of cars like the B8.

“We like to distinguish from the BMW M brand; we are not the racing car for the road, we are much more philosophy-wise, the British press often say an Alpina is like a Bentley. The customer is a little bit more mature, I know I have a lot of power, I know I have a lot of torque, sometimes I like to accelerate hard [and] go fast but I don’t need to show it every day and everywhere.

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“It’s more relaxed driving and a more relaxed kind of person and I think the B8 kind of sums this up very well and this is the reason why we have chosen to have this car in the market.”

As such, the B8’s performance is an equally convenient fit. A pair of Alpina-specific turbochargers, a new exhaust and cooling system increase outputs to a whopping 457kW from 5500-6500rpm and 800Nm from 2000-5000rpm.

These outputs match or exceed BMW’s M8 but the B8’s 3.4sec 0-100km/h claim is smack bang between the M850i’s 3.7sec claim and the M8’s 3.2sec effort. However, unhindered by electronic speed limiters, the B8 GC thunders its way to a 324km/h top speed.

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The Alpina’s chassis componentry is a who’s who of Europe’s high performance suppliers. Bilstein provides the adaptive dampers, which are retuned with the addition of an Alpina-specific ‘Comfort+’ mode, Eibach supplies the springs and Brembo the massive brakes, with 395mm front discs and four-piston calipers complemented by 398mm rear discs and single-piston calipers.

Pirelli develops the P Zero ALP tyres specifically for Alpina to fit the huge 21-inch ‘classic’ 20-spoke forged rims, the rubber fitted with Pirelli’s noise cancelling system to reduce road noise. Rear-wheel steering is also fitted to improve low-speed agility and high-speed stability.

As you’d hope with such an expensive, limited-production vehicle, there is plenty of scope for personalisation. As well as the trademark Alpina blue and green (pictured) paint finishes, the following colours are available:

• Alpine White (No-Cost Option)
• Carbon Black metallic (NCO)
• Black Sapphire metallic (NCO)
• Mineral White metallic (NCO)
• Sunset Orange metallic (NCO)
• Bluestone metallic (NCO)
• Barcelona Blue metallic (NCO)
• BMW Individual Dravit Grey metallic
• BMW Individual Tanzanite Blue II metallic
• BMW Individual Aventurine Red II metallic
• BMW Individual Frozen Bluestone metallic

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The Alpina decal set for the front spoiler and body sides can be optioned in gold, silver, black or omitted altogether while the wheels are available in either Black or Anthracite finish.

Inside there are Alpina-design treatments for the crystal glass gear selector and iDrive controller as well as the production plaque on the centre console. Walnut Anthracite trim is standard, but carbon fibre, piano black, fine-wood in fineline copper or ash black, ash gran grey or aluminium are optionally available.

There are four colour choices for the extended merino leather upholstery – black, white, cognac or night blue/black – while full merino leather is available at extra cost.

See below for a full list of standard equipment and key options and we’ll bring you a comprehensive drive review of the Alpina B8 Gran Coupe at the first opportunity.

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Standard equipment

• Alpina Classic 21-inch forged wheels with Pirelli P Zero ALP tyres
• ALPINA SWITCH-TRONIC 8-speed Sport-Automatic Transmission
• Air conditioning, automatic with four-zone control
• Airbags – front, side and head
• Alarm system
• Ambient lighting
• Auto Start-Stop
• BMW Display key
• BMW Laserlights
• Child seat ISOFIX attachments, rear
• Climate comfort windscreen
• Comfort Access with smart opener
• Connected Package Professional
• DAB tuner
• Door sill finishers ALPINA, illuminated
• Drive Performance Control with Comfort+, Comfort, Sport, Sport+ and Adaptive mode
• Driving Assistant Professional
• Dynamic Safety
• Dynamic Stability Control (DSC) incl. Dynamic Brake Control (DBC) and Dynamic Traction Control (DTC)
• Enhanced Bluetooth with wireless charging
• Exhaust system ALPINA, stainless steel, with double-ended tailpipes
• Exterior mirrors – folding, with anti-dazzle
• Exterior trim, High-gloss Shadowline
• First aid kit and warning triangle
• Floor mats ALPINA
• Front multi-function Sport Seats
• Front spoiler ALPINA
• Glass application 'Crafted Clarity' for interior elements in ALPINA Design
• Headlining, Anthracite
• Heat comfort package, front
• Instrument panel, leather
• Intelligent emergency calling
• Interior trim, ALPINA Walnut Anthracite high-gloss
• Live Cockpit Professional in ALPINA Design
• Loudspeaker system – 16-speaker harman/kardon surround sound
• Night vision with pedestrian recognition
• Panoramic glass sunroof
• Parking Assistant Plus
• ALPINA production plaque with production number
• Rear valance ALPINA with two double-ended tailpipes
• Seat heating, front and rear
• Seat ventilation, front
• Soft Close doors
• Sport rear differential
• Sport suspension ALPINA
• Multi-function steering wheel in LAVALINA
• Sunblind - rear windscreen, electric and rear side windows, electric
• Tyre pressure monitoring

Key Options

• BMW Individual paintwork
• Alpina exclusive paintwork
• Deco-Set in Black (front spoiler or front spoiler and sides)
• ALPINA CLASSIC 21-inch forged wheels finished in Black or Himalaya Grey
• ALPINA floor mats with leather piping
• ALPINA luggage compartment mat
• ALPINA luggage compartment mat with leather piping
• Alcantara Anthracite Headlining
• Steering wheel in ALPINA LAVALINA with bespoke stitching
• SWITCH-TRONIC CNC-milled aluminium gearshift paddles
• Full leather Merino upholstery
• LAVALINA leather upholstery
• Bowers & Wilkins Diamond Surround Sound System
• Universal remote control
• BMW Drive Recorder
• TV Function
• High-gloss Shadowline with extended contents
• M Carbon Roof (deletes panoramic sunroof)
• Sun protection glass
• High-performance brake system