What's the news?
Alpina is a strange company; despite being classed as an aftermarket tuner it receives a lot of support from BMW, yet without having to deal with the same marketing interference that the official M division does. Because of this Alpina tends to produce cars that M might like to but can't. Case in point the Alpina D3 that was unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show. For all intents and purposes this is a diesel M3 with its twin-turbo 3.0-litre straight-six engine churning out 345hp and 700Nm of torque. This means, in saloon guise (a Touring estate model will also be offered), the D3 can sprint from 0-62mph in 4.6 seconds and onto a top speed of 174mph - that is faster than the BMW M135i, the current darling of the automotive media.
Yet, despite the prodigious power, the engine is fully Euro 6 compliant, emits just 139g/km of CO2 and returns 53.3mpg.
Little wonder then that the previous D3 was the firm's best-selling car, with over 2,000 models sold.
Anything else?
The Alpina D3 is expected to arrive in the UK early in 2014 in both saloon and estate body styles. While European markets can choose between rear-and all-wheel drive, right-hand drive markets will only be offered rear-drive models.
Paul Healy - 11 Sep 2013