Alpina’s BMW enthusiasts have devoted themselves to the BMW 8 Series Gran Coupé with full conviction in recent months. The result is this mighty Alpina B8 Gran Coupé, a luxurious yet lightning-fast 8-series Gran Coupé that surpasses the M8 in pure muscle power.
Alpina has a reputation for adapting BMW products in such a way that nothing is lost in pure speed, while flexibility and comfort only increase. The company is now lifting the B8 Gran Coupé to the podium. The B8 is based on the M850i, but ignores it thoroughly.
The B8 Gran Coupé has the same biturbo 4.4 V8 under the hood as the M850i and M8. That eight-cylinder stamps out 530 hp in the M850i and is even good for 600 hp in the M8. The 4.4 V8 pumps in the Alpina B8 Gran Coupé no less than 621 hp and 800 Nm to all four wheels. This makes it stronger than the M8 and only 4 hp less powerful than the M8 Competition. Alpina’s B8 Gran Coupé does surpass the M8 Competition with 50 Nm and with that you can rightly call the creation from the German Buchloe an executioner. The extra power comes from revised turbos, a modified cooling system and intercoolers that are 50 percent larger than those of the original. The machine has also been adapted in collaboration with ZF.
BMW Alpina B8 Gran Coupé
Comfort and speed
Still, on the sprint from a standstill to a speed of 100 km / h, the Alpina B8 Gran Coupé is 0.2 seconds slower than the M8 Competition and 0.1 seconds less than the regular M8 Gran Coupé. This is partly due to the different character of the engine, but also to the higher weight of Alpina’s 8-series. The B8 Gran Coupé puts 2,175 kilos in the scale, while the M8s with 2,055 kilos are over 100 kilos lighter. Alpina’s B8 Gran Coupé is less focused on hard-hitting sportiness than the M8s. In any case, you have no reason to complain in the B8 Gran Coupé. The B8 has reached 100 km / h on the digital clocks in 3.4 seconds and has a top speed of 324 km / h. With that last number, the B8 beats its M8 brothers. After all, they are basically adjusted to a speed of 250 km / h and with the optional M Driver’s Package reach a top speed of 305 km / h. Alpina has revised the entire chassis and describes the character of the B8 Gran Coupé as “[…] first-class comfort for long distances with precise steering characteristics “.
Of course, it does not stop with a revised eight-cylinder. Alpina gives the B8 Gran Coupé, among other things, a special stainless steel exhaust system that should emphasize the sound of the V8. Thanks to valves, the sound in Comfort driving mode is just a bit milder than in the Sport modes. Indeed, positions. For example, with the help of active dampers, you can choose from the driving modes Comfort, Comfort + and Sport and Sport +.
BMW Alpina B8 Gran Coupé
Relatively subtle
No loud spoilers or extremely turned on spoilers on the outside. For the car it is, the B8 Gran Coupé looks quite modest. For example, there are little to no ‘oh so sporty’ black accents in the bumpers and the exhaust end pieces, four round ones, just like the M8, are neatly incorporated into the rear bumper. Alpina gives the B8, the brand describes the car strikingly enough as BMW Alpina B8 and not purely as Alpina B8, a subtle spoiler edge on the back that is wider but lower than the one on the back of the M8. Naturally, the B8 Gran Coupé stands on Alpina’s signature 20-spoke wheels, although they do have a diameter of 21 inches. Behind those slippers is Brembo brakeman with blue calipers. The discs have a diameter of almost 40 centimeters at the front and rear. Optionally, Alpina supplies specimens with perforated discs. The interior can be completely adapted to the customer’s taste and can be covered with beautiful leather and woodwork down to the smallest corners, niches, cracks and holes. The crystal iDrive button has ‘Alpina’ engraved.
BMW 8 Series
The BMW Alpina B8 Gran Coupé has a starting price of € 161,200 including taxes in Germany. The M850i Gran Coupé has a starting price of € 125,100 in Germany, the M8 Gran Coupé Competition changes ownership from € 167,400. In the Netherlands you have already lost € 175,000 for the M850i, while the non-Competition M8 has a starting price of € 204,585. The B8 Gran Coupé is also relatively late. BMW is already testing with a facelifted 8-series Gran Coupé …
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