2020 Alpina B3: faster, more refined than M340i not for US soil

Alpina is to BMW what Lucius Fox is to Bruce Wayne. A little magic tinkerer who sprinkles a little pixie dust and turns your ordinary BMW into something special. It’s no wonder why models coming out of Alpina’s yard are highly praised. More so, sometimes, than their folkloric ‘M’ counterparts.

When you see that ‘M’ badge on a BMW, you know that it’s been infused with race car DNA. They’re raw, obnoxious, visceral, certainly not for the faint-hearted and you know that the person behind the wheel is an automotive force to be reckoned with.

As one of our E30 enthusiasts, Sujith, says: “with this car, err’day is leg day.” Though not an ‘M’ per se, the principle applies: they’re not the easiest cars to drive.

What is Alpina?

There’s another BMW breed, set up to challenge the brute tenacity of the ‘M’ cars with a softer, more refined package that doesn’t let up on performance. I am, of course, talking about Alpina, also known as BMW’s experimental play ground.

Tucked away in the Bavarian countryside, this mystical centre of expert innovation is a mod-fest that the average bystander often overlooks, but that enthusiasts and collectors would never ignore.

For just over half a century, the talented worker bees at Alpina have fettled engines, tweaked suspensions and restyled bodyworks for their gargantuan neighbours, to deliver cars that have taken home the plaudits, and have put BMW’s own efforts to shame.

Alpina has been at the helm of tuning mastery over the years, which entitles them to have creative control over those designs, which would otherwise not pass through the carmaker’s pipeline.

2020 Alpina B3: bringing it up a notch

The 2020 B3 uses a favourable AWD system, mechanical limited-slip rear differential and eight-speed automatic transmission from the M340i xDrive, but adds a heftier torque converter to better cope with the output of the S58 twin-turbo 3.0L straight-six engine.

They’ve also reimagined the straight-six with smaller, low-inertia turbo compressors, redesigned intake and exhaust systems and retuned the computer. Top refinement right thurrr.

Now, the B3’s 457 ponies fall slightly short of the M models’ 473 at the lower end, but produces a stellar 516 pound-feet of torque, eclipsing the M’s 442 pound-feet.

You can breach 100 km/h in just 3.5 seconds versus the M340i’s 4.4 seconds.

Built for comfort

Once again, comfort is the name of the game. The B3 features new Eibach springs, but retains the adaptive dampers from the M340i, recalibrated to further distinguish between Comfort and Sport modes.

The B3 is by and large less dramatic than its ‘M’ badge rivals. It pulls hard from basement revs without a fuss, and is happy to extend itself to its redline when needed. No moaning and groaning here, I assure you.

Sure, it may not have the explosive top end of the last generation M3/M4, but it certainly makes for a more effortless driving experience (unless effort’s your end goal, in which case ignore this). You would definitely enjoy taking an Alpina out for a lengthy drive, rather than shaving seconds off lap times.

Not your everyman car

Alpina is a boutique solution, offering exclusivity and fine tuning as opposed to all out manufacturing. Think of it like this. BMW took its 3-series as a rough sketch and asked Alpina to fill it in by tweaking modifications, delivering comfort over vivacity. Result? The B3.

Without Alpina, there would be no B3. They’re BMW’s playground, an opportunity to make that “what if?” a reality. They’re rewriting an already robust script, streamlining it, emphasising the most important elements while resolving any nagging bits. They push the envelope of what’s possible and create cars that BMW wouldn’t create itself.

But is the Alpina for me? It depends. Do you take it rough? Then maybe Alpinas are not for you. Do you like to workout while you drive? Alpina’s definitely not for you.

Not available in the US

Even though the US does have some Alpinas on the road, including the B7 and upcoming XB7 SUV, sadly they won’t be bringing the B3 to the land of the free.

That means US-based petrolheads may have to find other ways to get their hands on the B3. Knowing them, they will.

You can see Alpina’s theatrical 2020 B3 reveal here.

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