lpina began with racing
and only later branched
out into the world of road
c a r s , s o it ’s no s u r pr i s e
those cars are fast. What you might
not realise is just how seriously it
takes the business of covering the
length of a football pitch per second.
For high-speed driving there is
the draped bodykit, and in recent
times the design of these parts has
b e e n i n for me d b y w i nd-t u n ne l
testing at BMW. However, at this
price level there are limitations to
what’s achievable with aero and so
elsewhere Alpina needs to be clever.
For example, the supremely natural
steering action is just a touch firmer
of f- c e nt r e i n t he p e t r ol mo de l s t h a n
the diesel models. Why? Because the
diesels typically manage only around
170mph on the autobahn whereas the
petrols – as we discovered first-hand
when our B4 S hit 201mph – will go
beyond 190mph and so the additional
A
A mini road test truly brings home the brute force at this car’s disposal
ALPINA B 4 S
Here’s another B4 S stat for you: each
leather seat takes 10min to wipe down
composure is beneficial. Similarly, the
new B7 runs a much greater degree
of negative camber and toe-in than
a regular BMW 750i. It helps the car
b e t t e r e xe c ut e one of A lpi n a’s mor e
dramatic handling benchmarks: a
sudden lane change at 185mph.
But all this stuff is mostly
irrelevant outside Germany.
What we’re interested in is how a
car goes below 100mph. To this end,
I promised a while ago we’d attach
our VBOX telemetry equipmentto the B4 S and, during a quieter
moment of the recent Ferrari 488
Pista road test, the opportunity to do
so arose. The metrics of particular
interest are 30-70mph in fourth gear
(indicative of mid-range torque and
f lexibility), 50-70mph in third gear
(power and pace further up in the
rev range) and 0-100mph, if only
for the bigger picture.
The numbers are surprising. On
a warm track, the B4 S managed
4.6sec for the fourth-gear run, which
if nothing else underlines the fact
Buchloe’s 3.0-litre twin-turbo six
makes a remarkable 486lb ft. That
time is not only quicker than that
of the new Porsche 911 Carrera S
(5.3sec) and Aston Martin Vantage
(4.7sec), but also the new Mercedes-
AMG C63 S (4.7sec), which uses the
same 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 as the
Vantage and is generally regarded
as something of a torque monster.
Curiously, the new Audi RS4 Avant
matched the Alpina, despite the
heavier estate body and four-wheel-
drive hardware. The outgoing M4,
w h ic h w e t e s t e d i n 2 014 a nd i n
pre-Competition Package guise,
mustered only 5.4sec.You would expect the tables to turn
further up the rev range, and things
are indeed a lot closer. Nevertheless,
for the 50-70mph run in third gear,
the Alpina stopped the clock at 1.8sec.
In a car that prioritises old-world
r e f i ne me nt a nd u s a bi l it y, t h at ’s a
very quick time. In fact, it’s a tenth
quicker than the Aston Martin and
Porsche. Quicker too than the RS4,
but matched exactly by the AMG. In a
nutshell, the B4 S is a total assassin.
OWN ONE? SHARE YOUR EXPERIENCE
ALPINA B4 S
Price £63,000 Price as tested £72,880
Faults None Expenses Autoglym
leather cleaner £8 Economy 29.1mpg
Last seen 17.7.19
TEST DATA
Admittedly, for the sprint to
100mph from a standstill, its power
to surprise begins to wane. A time
of 9.0 s e c l a gs b e h i nd t h at for t he
Carrera S (7.7sec) and the Vantage
(8.3sec), and also the M4 by two
tenths, but still beats the C63 S andthe RS4 Avant. With traction only
slipping momentarily in second gear,
its time was hampered certainly
by the lack of launch control and
also by its slower gearshifts. Alpina
would argue that neither fractionally
quicker cog-swapping nor the ability
of a computer to balance power with
traction and f lawlessly fire the car off
t he m a rk i s pa r t ic u l a rl y r e le v a nt on
a weekday evening, and I’m inclined
to agree. I would like it if the delivery
was more linear, though – when the
l a r ge r t u rb o w a k e s up at a r ou nd
3000rpm, you really know about
it. Step-off and the initial wave of
acceleration can also feel a bit abrupt
when you’re crawling about at low
speeds. Curiously, leaving the ’box in
Sport mode can help.
But more broadly, if the aim of
t h i s lon g-t e r m t e s t i s t o de t e r m i ne
whether £65,000 is too expensive
for a 4 Series that isn’t an M-car, in
terms of performance the answer
has to be a resounding ‘no’.RICHARD LANE
‘OPAL’ LEATHER
W h e n i t ’s c l e a n , i t ’s l ove l y – i f a b i t
fancy. Reckon on wiping it down
with Autoglym (or some such)
every 2000 miles, though.
SUNROOF
Along with the light upholstery
and zero window tints, the cabin’s
lounge-feel is a delight – and
genuinely calming.
LOATHE IT
LOVE IT
MILEAGE 6100
WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT
To s e e w h e th e r £65 , 0 0 0 i s to o m u c h fo r
a 4 Series without an ‘M’ on its rump
68 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 3 1 JULY 2019