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INFORMATION REGARDING BMW ALPINA D3 BI-TURBO COUPE QUICK FACTS 2/4/2008
FAQs Where does it fit in to the range? What is the philosophy behind the car? The car has been designed to give performance approaching that of the 330d six-cylinder diesel, whilst benefiting from the excellent fuel consumption and lower emissions associated with the four cylinder engines. The exceptional handling and quality of ride which was evident in the outgoing D3 Saloon has been maintained. The car is priced at £32,950, representing a price premium of £2,030 over the BMW 320d M Sport Coupe; in other words, around the price point of the BMW 325d M Sport Coupe. How has this been achieved? ALPINA have used a variant of the twin turbo engine used in the BMW 123d. This has then been up rated. Extra power is achieved with very little degradation in fuel consumption from what is already a very efficient unit. The four cylinder engine does not carry the weight penalty of the six-cylinder cars meaning the Power-To-Weight ratio is improved considerably; up to the same levels as the 330d Coupe. (We have expressed this below in Horsepower Per Tonne). Comparison chart (Manual)
Comparison chart (Automatic)
Why is the price of this car more than the outgoing D3 Saloon? And why is it not a “one spec” model like the old car? With our production cost savings due to volume, and administration cost savings (because we didn’t have to specify each car individually) - ALPINA AG and ALPINA GB, together, were able to achieve a “one spec” car at a price point which appealed to many consumers. We also got a great deal on currency exchange. Thus we offered this car with no price premium over a standard BMW 320 d M Sport - around £2,000 less expensive than it would have otherwise been. Customers could still order options but, first, they had to pay the extra cost for bespoke specification (there were just a few such orders). The BMW Coupe is in a much smaller (and, more expensive) segment than the Saloon, hence the market for D3 Coupe will also be smaller but more “bespoke”. We have also had to upgrade more parts across the car than was necessary on the previous D3 to cope with the extra performance of the Bi-turbo. Thus the increase in price is a combination of several facts: BMW Coupes are more expensive than BMW Saloons; each order we process will be an individual one; various heavier-duty technical components; and current exchange rates. Won’t BMW soon put the twin-turbo engine in the 3-Series anyway? Our information is not at this stage, but obviously, things might change in the future! In any event, if you apply the same price premium to the 320d M Sport as the uplift from 120d to 123d (£1,600-£1,800), you get back to £32,500 anyway. Apart from the engine, what significant features are standard on the ALPINA, but not on a 320d M Sport Coupe?
ALPINA cars are supplied with the same unlimited mileage European 2-Year warranty as any other BMW. They do not benefit from the 3rd Year warranty normally associated with BMW UK supplied vehicles. Why don’t you get the same Air Conditioning / Seat adjustment as a UK BMW 320d Coupe as “standard”? It keeps the price down (and saves around 22kg unladen weight) If a customer chooses a high specification they could quite easily spend £37,000 - £40,000. Is this wise? This would be the same whichever of the above models you consider, (ALPINA options prices are almost all identical to BMW UK options prices). There is a trade off between what the customer wants and how much he or she is prepared to spend. As with the BMW models, lots of extra specification means a consequent cost when the car is disposed of. Customers would be well advised to choose options carefully unless this is not issue. This is what we will do on our own demonstrators. Apart from all of the above, why shouldn’t my customer just buy a normal BMW? Many customers will do exactly that; they will not have to wait long for a car, and the existing BMW 3- Series range is already considered the benchmark product in its class. We believe the D3 Bi-turbo is special, and offers a truly excellent overall package - but it is very much a ‘niche’ product, and there won’t be many around (we will probably deliver less than 100 in the UK this year compared with many thousands of BMW Coupes). Our advice is to give your customer the facts, let them experience both the BMW and ALPINA models, and make their own decision. Fortunately you represent both brands so you can serve them either car! Is there a long waiting list? When are cars arriving? When can I do a demonstration? If my customer placed an order today, when could I deliver? We have a couple of cars on the ground, but deliveries properly commence in June / July (including some dealer demonstrators). In the interim we will rotate a car through each dealer in turn (dates TBA) so that demonstrations can be planned. We are now sold out for new orders until October 2008. It is wise to check with us before taking an order & deposit. When will the D3 Bi-Turbo Saloon and Touring be available? Will they come with “one spec”. Both models are in the pipeline but we are unlikely to see anything beyond a pre-production car this year. Price & specification decisions will be taken nearer the time based on: production capabilities, where we see the market, prevailing currency exchange etc. Finally… Is it true that the kerb weight of a D3 Coupe is less even than a 3-Door 123d M Sport? How can this be? First correct answer as to why this is true sent to me (Neil) wins a prize ! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| This information was compiled by ALPINA GB and is reproduced with their permission. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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