For more than 50 years, Alpina has created some of the coolest BMWs on the road. Many of them haven’t officially come to North America, but that hasn’t stopped enthusiasts from coveting them, to the point of waiting 25 years to legally import them. However, the time of Alpina as we know it is coming to an end the B8 GT might be the last car the company builds before becoming part of BMW.
See, back in 2022, Alpina agreed to sell its tuning brand to BMW, with a full transfer planned for Jan. 1, 2026. The Buchloe-based business will soon focus only on heritage models, and I can’t blame it. Tougher emissions legislation, challenges in software regulation, and growing requirements for advanced driver assistance systems all put pressure on Alpina as a small registered manufacturer, and increasing enthusiast focus on older models means offloading the new vehicle side of the business to BMW and focusing on aftersales support makes sense for the brand.
Still, we’ll miss seeing Alpina’s unique takes on building the ultimate BMWs for the road largely independent of BMW. It’s a far less hardcore approach than M, which is appreciated since cars like the M8 Competition can sometimes be unbearably harsh on the street. Meanwhile, every Alpina I’ve driven has simply been effortless. Effortlessly swift, effortlessly comfortable, effortlessly deft in the bends. In the current lineup, the B8 is one of my favorites, and the B8 GT should improve on that formula.
It all essentially starts with an M850i Gran Coupe, a four-door version of a two-door version of a four-door car that’s capable, but certainly not without room for improvement. Alpina? It’s the improver, and it starts with the heart of the machine. The N63 turbocharged V8 gets turned up to a whopping 625 horsepower thanks in part to breathing and mapping tweaks, and just as importantly, a monstrous 627 lb.-ft. of torque. Paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel-drive, Alpina claims the B8 GT can run from zero-to-62 mph in 3.3 seconds and max out at 205 mph if you find a clear stretch of derestricted Autobahn and keep your foot in it. That makes it one of the fastest sedans in the world, a pretty good club to be in.
However, sheer speed isn’t where the story of the B8 GT ends. It also gets its own suspension calibration featuring a Comfort+ mode like you’d see in the regular B8. Despite the rubber band sidewalls on those massive 21-inch multispoke wheels, the mission here is to dance rather than attack. At the same time, a new strut brace up front enhances rigidity, torque distribution is more rear-biased than on a regular 8 Series, and even the limited-slip rear differential is set up to be on its toes.
On the outside, the distinction between the Alpina B8 GT and the standard B8 is mostly subtle. You get a carbon fiber diffuser, new vents in the fenders, a spot of carbon on the front lip, a small pair of canards, and oh yeah, the option of two-tone paint. Granted, Alpina models have always been subtly unsubtle from the massive wheels to the signature graphics, but it all has a history of actually coming together. I doubt that many other large four-doors could rock canards, but somehow, they don’t seem wildly out of place here.
Only 99 of these Alpina B8 GT limited-run, um, Gran Coupes are slated for production, and pricing is something else. Although the model isn’t expected to make it to America, pricing in Europe is quite high. Figure a starting price of €225,000, with options like the €11,500 two-tone paint poised to bring the sticker higher. Still, considering this might very well be the end of an era, it might be worth it to the Alpina-obsessed.
(Photo credits: Alpina)
Support our mission of championing car culture by becoming an Official Autopian Member.
-
We Asked A NASCAR Driver To Slide The Alpina XB7 In The Snow For Science And LOLs
-
The 2023 Alpina XB7 Will Let Your Whole Family Experience Luxury At 180 MPH
-
The RUF Rodeo Is An Off-Road Bruiser Shaped Like A Classic 911
-
The RUF Rt 12 Coupe Is A Wolf Clothed Like A Very Aggressive Sheep
-
The Death Of The BMW iDrive Infotainment Knob Is Almost Here
Please send tips about cool car things to tips@theautopian.com. You could even win a prize!
Really haven’t paid a lot of attention to BMW lately as I don’t agree with their design language but this thing is sharp! Name not withstanding, it’s a really handsome vehicle. Maybe because it doesn’t have the weird upright grill of the 3 series
Oh, if I were made of money, the custom plates I would very immediately get
GR8B8M8
Alpinas are my favorite BMWs,it’s a shame they will be gone along with the M division,yes,I also consider the M brand gone by now.
I always loved the ‘90s Alpinas but it is hard to say how much of that is forbidden fruit (much like my lusting for the ABC Kei cars that would probably have me desperate for a Miata). After the ‘90s there is only so much one can do to polish a turd.
I give it 50/50 whether Alpina under BMW is better. There is a lot a major manufacturer can do that a tiny company cannot in terms of development and quality control. And there is a pretty clear distinction that M is for the track and Alpina is for driving across the continent, as long as BMW can stick to it.
The Alpinas always interested me more than the Ms.
Once of the few modern BMWs that doesn’t make me want to pour bleach on my eyes. The price though is insane.
I hate that it’s called a ‘Gran Coupe’ cause it’s not, but the 6 and 8 series sedans have always been damn pretty *and* nice to drive.
You can get certified 840s in the high 40s/low 50s and sometimes you’ll even see certified M850s in the 50s. Hell you can get a pre hooned M8 in the 60s. For whatever reason these things depreciate ridiculously and I think they’re great secondhand buys so long as you know what you’re getting in to.
One of the few pretty modern BMWs, too. I really love the boot lid.
They’re gorgeous and your engine options are either a straight 6 or a V8 as god intended. I personally think they’re one of the last surviving remnants of the BMW we all came to love a long time ago.
I’ve always loved Alpinas and I’ll let you all in on a dirty secret if you promise not to share it outside these hallowed grounds…Alpinas depreciate way more than full M cars. They’re a more niche interest that most people don’t know about. As long as you accept that they’re going to require a lot of work to keep running and budget accordingly you can get into them for downright reasonable prices down the road.
Holy Moley you aren’t kidding. I really did not need this information because I might make a terrible financial decision from it. Damn, they are extremely tempting…
Oh, I fantasy shopped them a bit before settling on a modern mid range non M 3 series.
So tempting, you just have to broaden your shopping market to find some on sale.
Alpina has two tasty recent models that are forbidden fruit here in the US. The B5 (5 series) and XD3 (X3 Based) I would snap up a depreciated 2-3 year old B5 long roof in a heartbeat. The XD3 is also interesting because it is a B58 oil burner with very few compromises.
Why does it look like a wagon with the butt fell off.
Maaaaaannnnn, can you imagine this thing in a longroof? RS6AvantWHAT?
Very nice. Specially in this shade of green.
This truly is the Master B8.
I came here to say this.