There is something strange about this Alpina B8 Gran Coupé. Normally there is a pretty clear demarcation between the all-powerful M and the more cruiser-style B. But this time the tables have turned. When you hit a traffic light in you BMW M8 Gran Coupé, the Alpina B8 that you will make next to you Lake power. This is wrong.
This is not always the case. If you get a BMW M8 Competition, you drive a car with 617 hp. The regular M8 does with a paltry 600. That is certainly paltry next to the 612 of the B8.
Again, this is wrong! Alpinas should make a simple distinction from the performance cars that BMW offers. BMW M cars have more horsepower, Alpinas do it with less power but more torque. M cars are about to tear down the road. Alpinas are busy defeating them. Sport versus comfort. Performance versus style. The prices are not even far off. A BMW M8 Gran Coupe starts at $ 130,000. An Alpina B8 Gran Coupe is five dollars off of $ 140,000 with destination.
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That’s not what we get here with this Alpina. It produces too much power! It is not even at the expense of the couple. The B8 makes 590 lb-ft, while the M8 makes 553, Competition or no. The Alpina and M8s both use the same base engine, BMW’s 4.4-liter twin-turbo V8, so the similarities make sense.
The way this should work is that Alpina’s car should have more torque, but at the expense of power. It should be abundantly clear to everyone around you that you care more about a comfortable, confident car than any other M car. So it was with the BMW Z8, with the 400 hp engine from the M5, and the Alpina Roadster, with 375 hp of torque on a more pedestrian BMW V8
I got the chance to drive one of those Alpina Roadsters, let it drive that V8 out, banging and pounding around BMW’s Spartanburg test track. It was so satisfying to have driven so aggressively in such a comfortable car, and the car had a sense of poise and understanding as he understood.
The B8 should have that. Instead, it produces too much power. However, I can’t be mad about it. It is certainly a better car than the M8. I mean look at that paint. Only the paint works.
