It seems like BMW‘s North American experiment with the Alpina brand’s products that kicked off with the previous generation 7-Series-based B7 was deemed successful enough to spur a sequel with the B6 Gran Coupe based on the four-door 650i Gran Coupe with xDrive.
BMW, which is the North American retailer of Alpina cars, said the 2015 B6 Gran Coupe will make its debut on this side of the Atlantic at the New York International Auto Show in April and will go on sale immediately thereafter.
Alpina’s iteration of the car comes with a tuned 4.4-liter turbocharged V8 producing 540-horsepower and 540 lb-ft, a notable increase over the regular 650i’s 445hp and 480 lb-ft of torque. In the States, the B6 Gran Coupe will be exclusively available with the 8-speed ALPINA Switch-Tronic automatic transmission and all-wheel drive .
The manufacturer says acceleration to 60mph (96km/h) is completed in 3.7 seconds with the car offering a top speed of 198mph (319km/h), which compares to the regular 650i xDrive Gran Coupe’s 4.3 seconds and (limited) maximum speed of 155mph (250km/h) respectively.
Alpina also tweaks the chassis as well as the Gran Coupe’s appearance with 20-inch wheels, front apron, rear diffuser, a boot lid spoiler, hand stitched steering wheel, exclusive interior trim accents, illuminated logos and stitched seats.
That’s the good news, because, you know, there’s bad news too, and it has to do with Alpina’s pricing strategy which has the B6 Gran Coupe starting from $118,225 including $925 destination and handling. That’s $2,300 more than the $115,925 (with destination, but excluding the $1,300 gas guzzler tax) 560hp M6 Gran Coupe – which may be slower on paper to 60mph (4.1 seconds), but it’s more desirable as a M model.
By John Halas
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