Merc1
Premium
The Alpina D3 Bi-Turbo Coupe is a 3-series BMW really should make. To create it Alpina, the Buchloe-based tuner, tweaker and BMW bedfellow takes a regular 3-series coupe. It then drops in the twin-turbo diesel engine from a 123d, makes a few changes and the result is an engine with more bhp per litre than any other BMW road car.
But Alpina is well known as a maker of fast and understated M Division-rivalling BMWs. So what happens when the company turns its attentions to diesel? Will there be an agricultural rattle to spoil everything? Read on to find out about the Alpina D3 Bi-Turbo Coupe.
What are the tweaks and changes that create the Alpina D3 Bi-Turbo Coupe?
It’s somewhat harsh to call Alpina a mere BMW tuner. In fact, the main assembly of every Alpina takes place on BMW’s regular production lines, before the cars are transferred to Alpina HQ for hand finishing. And there’s so much BMW in each Alpina that every car still features the blue and white propeller. If BMW is prepared to let Alpina products wear its badge, then these cars must be pretty special...
Back to the D3 Bi-Turbo. It’s Alpina’s second diesel, after the 2006 D3. But while that car had a single turbo, the Bi-Turbo has, you guessed it, two turbos. The engine is essentially the unit from the 123d, but a new cat-back exhaust, ECU and gearbox settings liberate 211bhp, up from 204bhp. But there’s also 332lb ft (increased from the already M3-matching 295), available from 2000-2500rpm.
Full Article: BMW Alpina D3 Bi-Turbo Coupe
M
