The thunderously capable but impressively refinedBMW M5 is with us, but anyone wanting a performance version of this generation 5 Series prior to the launch of BMW’s headline saloon would have had to turn to the Alpina B5 Biturbo.
Until recently, Alpinas have avoided using the same engines as M division products, but the B5 comes pretty close to going head to head with the new M5. It shares the same basic 4.4-litre V8 engine (the inlet set-up is different), equipped with two retuned turbochargers.
In Alpina tune, BMW’s twin-turbocharged 4.4-litre V8 produces 532bhp at 5200-6250rpm and 541lb ft from just 2800rpm. That's enough, says the firm, to take the car from 0-62mph in 4.5sec and onto a gloriously unrestricted 198mph.
The engine is fitted with an eight-speed automatic transmission which has been developed by Alpina and ZF and has a trick way of speeding up shifts when you select one of the car’s sportier modes
Instead of merely retarding the engine timing, the B5 uses its direct injection tech to switch off a cylinder. Alpina says the system cuts gearshift times in two, to around 180 milliseconds, thanks to the reduction in torque.
This version of the B5 also gets revisions to its suspension settings and the arrival of the tyres that the car was always designed to be fitted with: non-runflat Michelin Pilot Super Sports.