Photo: CarPix
Alpina, a German company specialized in tuning BMW models, has already begun testing the next B5 Touring on the Nurburgring.
Since Alpina has a special relationship with BMW, and receives special-specification chassis straight from the production line of the German company, the Buchloe-based carmaker gets to tune a model that has yet to come to market.
In a form of automotive inception, Alpina is currently perfecting an enhanced version of the estate model (Touring, in BMW nomenclature) of the next-generation 5 Series. The latter will bear the internal designation G31, and its Alpina version will be the closest thing to an M5 Touring.
As you already know, BMW has not built an M5 Touring since the E61 generation has been eliminated from production. So getting an Alpina B5 Touring will be the closest thing to experiencing an M5 with the Touring body style of a BMW 5 Series, along with numerous other improvements.
Our friends at CarPix have informed us that the prototype was running “very quick laps” around the famous Green Hell, which makes us believe that Alpina has managed to squeeze over 600 HP out of the 4.4-liter V8 bi-turbo unit borrowed from the M5.
Just like the next M5, which will not get a manual-transmission option, we do not expect Alpina to develop such a feature, as engineers will not have a business case for this element.
Along with the engine tuning, the Alpina B5 Touring will also receive an aerodynamic kit, the particular pin-striping package, and an overhaul of the suspension, braking, and steering systems.
On the inside, the specialists from Buchloe will apply their magic to the interior of the B5 Touring, as they do with all models they develop. Expect to see this model in late 2017 or early 2018, and a diesel-engined variant is coming shortly afterward.
Alpina is the only company that has a privileged relationship with BMW that enables the former to receive pre-production models for testing purposes and develop them in the wild, like you see this example. If some of you have any doubts concerning this model’s belonging to the Alpina range, we inform you that its license plates follow the usual combinations chosen by Alpina, and they also suit the Ostallgäu district designation letters.
In a form of automotive inception, Alpina is currently perfecting an enhanced version of the estate model (Touring, in BMW nomenclature) of the next-generation 5 Series. The latter will bear the internal designation G31, and its Alpina version will be the closest thing to an M5 Touring.
As you already know, BMW has not built an M5 Touring since the E61 generation has been eliminated from production. So getting an Alpina B5 Touring will be the closest thing to experiencing an M5 with the Touring body style of a BMW 5 Series, along with numerous other improvements.
Our friends at CarPix have informed us that the prototype was running “very quick laps” around the famous Green Hell, which makes us believe that Alpina has managed to squeeze over 600 HP out of the 4.4-liter V8 bi-turbo unit borrowed from the M5.
Just like the next M5, which will not get a manual-transmission option, we do not expect Alpina to develop such a feature, as engineers will not have a business case for this element.
Along with the engine tuning, the Alpina B5 Touring will also receive an aerodynamic kit, the particular pin-striping package, and an overhaul of the suspension, braking, and steering systems.
On the inside, the specialists from Buchloe will apply their magic to the interior of the B5 Touring, as they do with all models they develop. Expect to see this model in late 2017 or early 2018, and a diesel-engined variant is coming shortly afterward.
Alpina is the only company that has a privileged relationship with BMW that enables the former to receive pre-production models for testing purposes and develop them in the wild, like you see this example. If some of you have any doubts concerning this model’s belonging to the Alpina range, we inform you that its license plates follow the usual combinations chosen by Alpina, and they also suit the Ostallgäu district designation letters.
Google News