ALPINA chose Geneva to unveil their European premiere of their new BMW ALPINA B6 Biturbo Coupe and the European premiere of their new colour Matt ALPINA Blue.
The new F12 based ALPINA 6 Series Coupe uses a new 4395cc bi turbo V8. Twinned to a 8 speed switchtronic gearbox. 533bhp (@5500rpm) and 538lb ft (@2800rpm) powering it to 60mph in 4.2 seconds and rocketing to a maximum speed of 193mph.
The show car No 015 was in Matt ALPINA Blue exterior with a Dark Blue/Grey combined with Light Grey in a combination of Leather and Alcantara and featuring cross stitching.
Here is our video we shot at the show of the new B6.
Another ALPINA European premiere was their new BMW ALPINA D5 Biturbo touring.
The new F11 based ALPINA 5 Series uses a new 2797cc bi turbo inline 6. Twinned to the same 8 speed switchtronic gearbox used in the new B6 (and existing B5 and B7). The engine produces 345 bhp (between 4000-4200 rpm) and 'in excess of' 479lb ft powering it to 60 mph in hard-to-believe-its-a-diesel 5.0 seconds and rocketing to a maximum speed of 168 mph.
The show car No 023 was in ALPINA Blue exterior featuring Silver deckoset with a Champagne and gloss black interior.
This car has been hottly anticipated following the success of the 3 Series based ALPINA D3 and D3 Bi-Turbo.
Here is our video we shot at the show of the new D5.
ALPINA decided to have their world premiere for the celebratory B3 GT3 in Japan. So Geneva again was their European debut of the car. The limited edition BMW ALPINA B3 GT3 has been created to celebrate ALPINA's success
in last years ADAC GT Masters series. In which the winning drivers Dino Lunardi and Alexandros Margaritis drove their ALPINA B6 GT3 to victory. The B3 GT3 is based on the already potent BMW ALPINA B3S Bi-Turbo which thanks to
a new Akropovic exhaust not only gains a few more horses (8 bhp) it is also lighter, contributing to the cars overall drop in weight.
The car was shown in the full racing wrap which is available as a cost option, it is also available in ALPINA Blue, Black and White. Other tweaks to the car is fully adjustable suspension, an similar LSD to the B6 race car, and bigger brakes.
Designed to appeal to collectors it is also a great car, as ALPINA owner Andy Bovenseipen enthused, he himself an accomplished race driver. He has lapped the Northshliefe comfortably under 8 mins and says a proper driver (I think he's referring to a younger one in this case, as Andy is a previous winner of the Nurburgring 24hrs race) could do it even quicker.
The interior of the car depends on the chosen exterior, with the full decko wrap you get the ALPINA racing green trim shown on this car. If you chose the more stealth look then the interior is trimmed in Alcantara. Regardless of the exterior colour
all cars feature the gorgeous ALPINA / Recaro racing seats with the familiar ALPINA Blue and Green stripes.
The ALPINA Green II BMW ALPINA B5 Bi-Turbo was also a European debut given it now more powerful version version of the engine. Power is up from an already impressive 500 bhp and 516lb ft to 533bhp and 538lb ft !
These changes aren't cosmetic or purely electronic the car features new bigger turbos and also revised airflow both into and out of the engine.
The B5 Bi-Turbo shares the same engine as the new B6 Bi-Turbo. The show car ALPINA Green II exterior was paired with Champagne leather and green piping.
ALPINA held it's press conference on the first press day at 2.45pm on 6th March 2012. Andy Bovenseipen was interviwed and discussed the new cars being shown. How ALPINA
continued to blend performance and economy. Explaining that the new B5 whilst more powerful was more efficient, that the new D5 blended petrol performance with diesel economy and
emissions.
Andy went on to explain the B3 GT3 and how it was inspired by last years ADAC GT Masters win, He was joined by one of the winning drivers Dino Lunardi who will defend his championship in this years 'mildly twaked'
B6 GT3. Good news is there will be 2 cars racing again, bad news is the series doesn't come to the UK. Our only hope is if ALPINA chooses to compete in the Blancpain endurance series again this year, which does have a round at
Silverstone. The tweaks alluded to for the race car include better brakes which are less prone to heat build up, which apparently effected the car last year. The championship itself will be tough with new entrants from Mclaren
and the obvious investment and development from existing teams like Audi and Mercedes.
The cars were also undergoing new balance of testing tests whilst the show was taking place. The new tests differ from previous years in that it is more statistical now based on figures and straight line testing.
In previous years 2 impartial drivers drove every car at 2-3 circuits and the results lap times etc. we're used to assess the relative power of each car. The later sounds more sensible as it should more accurately
relate to the cars complete capabilities (corners !) but obviously organisers didn't think so. Regardless of the intital testing, penalties will be awarded like last year - 1st resulting in 30 kg being added to the car, 2nd 20kg and 3rd 10kg.
Also discussed was the new B6 too - including mentioning it's bespoke ALPINA interior, which like any ALPINA are entirely at the owners discretion (and pocket)
Here is the complete ALPINA Press conference at Geneva 2012:
ALPINA stand at Geneva International Motorshow 2012 followed the same the designed as previous years albeit with only 4 cars on display. All 4 were European premieres. The BMW ALPINA B6 Bi-Turbo took centre stage on the revolving turntable, shown in matt ALPINA Blue with a mixed leather and alcantara interior. Taking most of the
attention thanks to its racing wrap was the new limited edition BMW ALPINA B3 GT3. On the other side of the B6 was the revised, more powerful, BMW ALPINA B5 Bi-Turbo with a new 533bhp engine. And finally, the mightly impressive 350hp BMW ALPINA D5 Bi-Turbo shown for the first time in touring guise.
General Shots of the ALPINA Stand. And a video walkround.
