By Stewart Smith on 2017-08-03 - Stewart was the former motoring editor of the Coventry Telegraph and is now a freelance contributor to Eurekar. He is based in Scotland and specialises in First Drive reviews.
Alpina super saloon
makes UK debut
THE latest Alpina super saloon made its first appearance at the Geneva Motor Show earlier this year and a lucky few in the UK can now get their hands on the sensational 205mph motor for £115,000 - a relative snip in the supercar world.
It comes with an Alpina-optimised 4.4-litre V8 engine, delivering 608bhp (up from 600bhp for the Geneva show car) and 800 Nm of punch, so the new B7Bi-Turbo joins the exclusive group of cars with 200mph-plus performance.
The Alpina B7 Bi-Turbo, to be the world's fastest four-door production car, is an evolution of the latest BMW 7-Series and at the heart of the super saloon is a heavily-revised, direct injection V8 breathing through two specially-developed, twin-scroll turbochargers.
To help achieve this impressive combination of performance, comfort and driving dynamics, Alpina's 70-strong engineering team has received exceptional access to BMW design data and technical facilities as part of a relationship that reaches back to 1964, when BMW endorsed the quality of Alpina products by awarding the full factory guarantee to BMW vehicles fitted with the new Alpina dual carburettor system.
It comes with an eight-speed automatic transmission from supplier ZF and the transmission can be controlled manually using the Alpina Switch-Tronic buttons on the back of the sports steering wheel.
B7 Bi-Turbos destined for the UK are long-wheelbase models with air suspension, active rear steering, which turns the rear wheels a maximum of three degrees the opposite way to the front wheels at low speeds and the same way at higher speeds.
For the UK the Bi-Turbo is available only with rear wheel drive. In this specification, the new motor will accelerate to 60mph in just 4.0seconds.
Alpina GB brand manager Gary Lott said: "Not long ago, only the most focussed £million hypercars could touch 200mph. Where road conditions allow, owners of the new B7Bi-Turbo can cruise long distances at that legendary speed, with friends and family in considerable comfort."
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