There is something strange about this Alpina B8 Gran Coupe. There is usually a very clear demarcation between the almighty M and the more cruiser B style. But this time the roles are reversed. If you reach a traffic light on your BMW M8 Gran Coupe, the Alpina B8 next to you will be doing most power. This is wrong.
This is not always the case. If you receive a BMW M8 competition, you will be running a car with 617 horsepower. The regular M8 settles for an insignificant 600. That is certainly insignificant alongside the 612 of the B8.
Again, this is wrong! Alpines should offer a simple distinction from the performance cars that BMW offers. BMW M cars have more horsepower, Alpines are content with less horsepower, but more torque. The M cars are about to tear up the road. Alpines are about to bring them down. Sport versus comfort. Performance versus style. Prices are not far off. A BMW M8 Gran Coupe starts at $ 130,000. An Alpina B8 Gran Coupe costs five dollars of $ 140,000 with destination.
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That is not what we are achieving here with this Alpine. It makes a lot of power! Not even at the expense of torque. The B8 does 590 lb-ft, while the M8 does 553, competition or not. The Alpina and M8 use the same basic engine, the 4.4-liter V8 biturbo from BMW, so the similarities make sense.
The way this should work is that the Alpina car must have high torque, but at the expense of power. It should be clear to everyone around you that you care more about a comfortable and reliable car than about any active M car. So it was with the BMW Z8, with the M5’s 400 HP engine, and the Alpina Roadster, with a 375 HP torquier attached a more pedestrian BMW V8.
I had the chance to drive one of those Alpina Roadsters, let him ride that V8, popping and hitting BMW’s Spartanburg test track. It was so rewarding to have such a comfortable car driven so aggressively, and the car had a sense of balance and understanding as he understood it.
The B8 must have that. Instead, it generates a lot of power. I can’t be angry about that, however. It is certainly a better car than the M8. I mean, look at that paint. The paint alone does this.
