#alpina

Famous BMW tuner Alpina has been caught testing its upcoming B4 model on the track.

Earlier this year, Alpina unveiled its B3 Bi-Turbo at the Geneva Motor Show, and now the in-house BMW tuner will debut a diesel-powered version of that same car at the upcoming Frankfurt Motor Show in September.

The new BMW Alpina B3 Bi-Turbo made its debut at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show, boasting 410 hp and 442 lb-ft of torque from its 3.0-liter, twin-turbo straight-six engine.

Alpina has released some photos of its B3 Bi-Turbo, which will be officially unveiled at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show.

In many ways Alpina is to BMW as AMG is to Mercedes-Benz, and it looks like the B6 Bi-Turbo Cabriolet may gave some of AMG’s finest a run for their money. The sporty convertible BMW features a 4.4L twin-turbocharged V8 power plant with 507-hp and a neck-bending 516 lb-ft of torque. This gives the B6 an impressive 0-62 mph time of 4.8 seconds and a top speed of 193-mph. Best of all, the convertible can still get 21.6-mpg – not too shabby.

The ADAC GT Masters now has their own bizarre racing accident to show off after an Alpina BMW B6 race car decided to crash over the tire barrier, jettisoning it towards a porta-potty and ironically enough, a BMW sign. And of course, this occurred at the famed Nürburgring raceway where it has truly lived up to its “The Green Hell” nickname.

The unfortunate victim was driver Alex Plenagl who was piloting the Alpina B6 GT at the beginning of the fourth round of the ADAC Masters championship. Fortunately no one was injured in the accident and Plenagl was able to walk away with any serious injuries. We could only imagine what sort of experience would have been in store had someone been in the porta-potty. Oh, and let’s be grateful no poor photographers were standing in that area trying to do their job, that would have been pretty tragic.

Check out the video after the break.

[Source: Autoblog]

A natural transition for the B5 Bi-Turbo tuning program for the new BMW 5-Series, Alpina is now offering its upgrades to the touring (wagon) model as well. We suppose if you’re absolutely stuck having to commute in a wagon, there’s probably no better way to do it than with 500-hp and 516 lb-ft of torque out of a 4.4L V8 twin-turbocharged powerplant.

Alpina has finally unwrapped its new B5 Biturbo, based on the all-new BMW 5 Series and as you might expect it delivers plenty of luxury, power and style. Fitted with a traditional Alpina aero kit, including a larger front air dam, the big news is under the hood where the 4.4-liter twin-turbo V8 gets pumped-up to 500-hp and 516 ft-lbs of torque. Alpina claims that’s enough to rocket the sedan to 62 mph in just 4.7 seconds. Top speed for the German saloon is rated at a startling 191-mph!

Alpina has just released a single teaser sketch of its new B5 Bi-Turbo model based on the brand new BMW 5 Series. Much like the 5 Series takes its style from the larger 7, the Alpina does the same, imitating the aerodynamic upgrades on the Alpina B7 models shown at the Chicago Auto Show and New York Auto Show earlier this year.

With the 5 Series being offered with the same 4.4-liter tinw-turbo V8 as the 7, we also expect a similar engine output of 500-hp and 516 ft-lbs of torque, and delivering a 0-60 mph time in the low 4 second range. (M5 anyone?) Other upgrades are sure to include larger wheels, lower profile tires, a modified suspension and custom interior.

The new Alpina B5 Bi-Turbo will launch at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, which starts on July 1st.

Official release after the jump:

Alpina is an interesting BMW tuner, taking run-of-the-mill BMWs and transforming them directly on the BMW assembly line. In some markets, like here in Southern California, you can walk into your local BMW dealership and see a (grossly inflated) Alpina vehicle on the showroom floor. The company’s resume extends from 3-Series E21 to E90, 5-Series E12 to E60/61, 6-Series E24 to E63/64, 7-Series E32 to E65/66, and even the 8-Series E31. Oh yeah, they like to dabble with the Z1, Z4 and Z8 roadsters too.

Now naturally since Alpina sells full automobiles rather than just tuning packages, their end product better be impressive. They claim the new B3 S sports 400-hp and 400 ft-lbs of torque, a 33.33-percent increase from the factory 300/300 figures. They don’t really elaborate on how these figures are achieved, but if we had to guess it’s pretty simple through an ECU upgrade that tosses in (safely of course) more boost and fuel to the 3.0L inline-six twin-turbo. Oh, and apparently the increased horsepower and torque comes with a side-effect of lowered emissions. We’re pretty sure that’s just negated though since you’ll just be more tempted to romp on the throttle.

On the exterior is a front spoiler and a new rear diffuser, both sporting very traditional Alpina styling. Their Classic alloy wheel gets a new treatment as seen on their previously released B7.

Currently the offering is only available in the U.K. and this isn’t just available for the coupes and convertibles, they’ve got a similar package for the E90 sedan.

Official press release available after the break.

GALLERY: Alpina BMW B3 S