D5 BiTurbo

Ok we have one - here's an opportunity to have one - if you got a point of view about something and want to share it - here's where you do it.
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Chas
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D5 BiTurbo

Post by Chas » Tue Sep 13, 2011 10:22 pm

[I was going to post this in the relevant thread but it's turned into a bit of a blog so I won't polute the announcement and those gorgeous photos with my ramblings.]
b10brian wrote:This will sell well
I hope so... but I have some reservations.

It's easily the best looking 5-series Alpina I've seen since I looked in my driveway, and that's been a long time coming. The exterior and interior is gorgeous, as is the case with all of Buchloe's show cars, and the performance/economy mix is just incredible. It's the big brother to that runaway success, the D3, so it stands to reason it will be as popular as the D3... Or does it?

Before you rush to beat me over the head with a crowbar and stone me for being the pessimistic Scot that I am, just consider the market for cars costing €70k; I assume that's the base price - the show cars on stand will be nearer €90k with their multitude of options. I suspect there are few contributors on this board who could (or would) buy one of these things new, so please hear me out. I'm not dissing the car!! However, it's fair to say I don't have much faith in the green credentials and fickle nature of the potential client base.

I can think of a number of people in my area who could buy one of these things as a second car. They spend much of their life on a different planet. They regard a Gallardo as a weekend toy and they think recycling plastic and glass is something best left to the plebs at the landfill site. Why the hell would they want to get their hands smelly when they refuel their car? They could just get a B5 and avoid that inconvenience, for goodness sake! Derv is for the shooting-brake and towing the horse-box.

The D3 was a runaway success for two good reasons. Firstly, it was better than the 320D M-Sport for those who cared about driving. However, it was also a company-car buyers dream (if it was on the options list) because the lease cost and emissions category meant a few quid less UK income tax each month - every little helps. It was all about the money, and the value for money. It's still a good car, but, with all due respect to D3 owners, it's the definitive entry-level Alpina; a Porsche 924 for the man who aspires to a 911. (Actually it was better than that, but not in UK/Sytner spec.)

Consider whether many people would go for a 911D, even if it did get better mpg than a standard 911... If you can afford to blow €20k+ on annual depreciation, an extra couple of €k a year on fuel isn't going to sway your decision to buy a D5 over a B5. If the stink of derv overpowers the mix of lavalina and RL when you return to your cocoon after paying for your refuelling, that's going to be a major consideration. It's just not necessary in the way a D3 was necessary.

I'd love to see some of these on the road, and perhaps even one on my driveway. However, I don't think it's a realistic alternative to the 520D so I'm not holding my breath that I'll be spotting many of them, even in Aberdeen (or, should I say, especially in Aberdeen).

On the plus side, it's at least a proper Alpina :wink:

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Post by chrisbin » Wed Sep 14, 2011 10:45 am

A few nails hit fair and square on the head there Chas!
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Post by DonFlintoni » Wed Sep 14, 2011 2:02 pm

Give the massive disparity in price of a 535d Msport and the D5 I think there is cause for concern.

Yes there is a lot more engineering involved in producing the D5 due to the power hike, air intake and cooling issues etc but does it really justify such a price difference.

I think it might actually end up being a rarer beast than the B5.

I cannot afford one and I have to ask myself If i won the euro millions what would I buy to ferry the dogs and kids about in? B5 Touring or D5 touring.....

That said, with the rumoured M5d possibly on the way maybe the BMW/alpina marketing gurus have intel joe public is not privvy to.

I think a D1 would have been more appropriate assumng the D3 lives on when the F30 is released.

p.s. i think this thread is a little hidden and would be best placed in the general forum as it raises important issues.
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Post by pete » Wed Sep 14, 2011 3:51 pm

....as the Pistonhead folk will soon be saying.

"Get yourself a remap and throw away your runflats on your 535d M sport and save yourself ...... " well actually TBH save yourself what maybe with options gulp maybe 30K?????????????? :shock: :shock:

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Post by Broch » Wed Sep 14, 2011 8:03 pm

I believe that the D5BT will be a cracking car, but at 70K Euros, i agree with most people here thinking that the car is well overpriced.

The same base engine (N57Z) will be in the 35d F25, which for a base model comes in at a little over 42K GBP :D
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Post by Misko » Wed Sep 14, 2011 11:06 pm

There are plenty of 535d models around (new and old) and I doubt that too many are company cars and the list price, £47.5k. As long as Alpina sells D5 for B3/M3 money, ~£55k, I think there will be plenty of interest.

Also depends on the sales tactic. If you offer a perspective buyer of 535d chance to drive D5 straight after, with comparable equipment level for 15-20% more, they will sell, I’m sure about that. If Sytner is just going to wait for somebody to come to the dealership and ask for D5, well, we will see only few. I’m curious about the new D3, is it going to go 335 way, 320 way or maybe both?

Personally, I’m still waiting for a used B6s coupe to appear to start screaming about mid-life crisis :twisted:
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Post by Peter&Janet » Fri Sep 16, 2011 1:09 am

What worries me is the market in UK: I think there were very few 535D sold last year. Alpina have been selling 2 hundred units a year with the D3 as the back bone but sales will be back to double figures and quite simply with cars starting at 50K + the customers who bought at the middle end of the market will depart in droves.
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Post by priya123 » Fri Sep 16, 2011 4:27 am

Thank you my dear, keep an eye out for the rest of it :)

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Post by chrisbin » Fri Sep 16, 2011 11:14 am

I read somewhere that about 90% of F10 5 series sales are the 520d!!!

This sector is still dominated by company car buyers for whom the fact they can have a 5'er that looks just like the others (even has a twin exhaust now), drives perfectly well esp. on the motorways, for significantly less outlay in BIK taxation is a "no-brainer"....
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Post by Ikule » Fri Sep 16, 2011 10:50 pm

chrisbin wrote:I read somewhere that about 90% of F10 5 series sales are the 520d!!!

This sector is still dominated by company car buyers for whom the fact they can have a 5'er that looks just like the others (even has a twin exhaust now), drives perfectly well esp. on the motorways, for significantly less outlay in BIK taxation is a "no-brainer"....

Yep i expected an Alpina D5 to be 520D based and costed keenly as with the D3 models,
but there again you never know whether Alpina have been asked by BMW not to steal sales of one of BMW's most important models in the 5 series range.

priya123 wrote:Thank you my dear, keep an eye out for the rest of it :)
Oh look we have a spammer among us :roll: how original :evil:
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Post by Charles » Fri Sep 16, 2011 11:02 pm

Ikule wrote:
priya123 wrote:Thank you my dear, keep an eye out for the rest of it :)
Oh look we have a spammer among us :roll: how original :evil:
Not any longer ...
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Post by I_MNL » Fri Dec 28, 2012 12:58 am

chrisbin wrote: by company car buyers for whom the fact they can have a 5'er that looks just like the others (even has a twin exhaust )...

Exactly! This twin exhaust on the lesser 5-er really annoys me :blow
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Post by PerryGunn » Fri Dec 28, 2012 10:04 am

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