After reading the Autocar article again last night & heur & hyth's above comments it seems Chris Harris' review was fair critisism of the B5. But that leaves me with one question - why did ALPINA not fit a LSD to the car.
Kevin.
Maybe we should threaten to cancel our orders? The M5 Touring will be available early in 2006!
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B5 Touring
Porsche 993 Carrera 2
E-Type Roadster
Maybe we should threaten to cancel our orders? The M5 Touring will be available early in 2006!
Not sure what could be done, given both our cars are due to be built in the next 4 weeks or so!
Might be possible to get them to retro-fit the LSD at a later date, I suppose...
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2005 Nissan Armada LE 4x4 (in the US)
2004 BMW X5 4.8is
2004 Subaru Forester 2.0XT
***former toys***
2007 MINI Cooper D ("Manfred")
2005 BMW Alpina B5 Touring Nr.007 (now owned by member Heihei)
2004 BMW 530iSE
2000 Lotus Exige
1999 BMW 840Ci Sport Individual ("Rommel")
1999 Subaru Impreza Turbo 2000 AWD RB5 Prodrive WR Sport (its official name!)
1996 BMW Alpina B8 4.6 Touring Nr.014 ("Lucie" - sold to member JoniP, currently owned by member Bernard)
1989 Lotus Esprit Turbo
Having read your comments on Alpina I also share your concerns for the future of the company. I always had a soft spot for Alpina's and really couldn't decide which was my favourite E39, the M5 or the B10? And there was always the touring version that only Alpina could provide you officially.
I guess today, Motorsport won the battle of building the best allround car. It used to be different though. M-cars were always more focused cars, with harder suspensions and higher revving engines. Alpina made the softer more comfortable car, mostly coupled to a (semi-)automatic gearbox. Still with a big, powerfull, engine but with a more rounded character. Technology has made it possible for the M5 to be all that in one car. And I guess there's the problem for Alpina. Where they used to be an alternative for the M-cars they now have to fish in the same waters.
I hope Alpina will keep on making great cars, the B5 will probably get its LSD at one time, maybe they're developing it today. The point is if they want to differentiate themselves from M-cars they will have to come up with something very soon. Why not a new turbo version? I still remember the legendary B7 turbos and the B10 biturbo. Why not a D5? An E60 with a V8 biturbo diesel engine from the 745d with some extra horses under the bonnet. Now how about that for an idea Andy?
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You live only once. Be M-powered
Having read your comments on Alpina I also share your concerns for the future of the company. I always had a soft spot for Alpina's and really couldn't decide which was my favourite E39, the M5 or the B10? And there was always the touring version that only Alpina could provide you officially.
I guess today, Motorsport won the battle of building the best allround car. It used to be different though. M-cars were always more focused cars, with harder suspensions and higher revving engines. Alpina made the softer more comfortable car, mostly coupled to a (semi-)automatic gearbox. Still with a big, powerfull, engine but with a more rounded character. Technology has made it possible for the M5 to be all that in one car. And I guess there's the problem for Alpina. Where they used to be an alternative for the M-cars they now have to fish in the same waters.
I hope Alpina will keep on making great cars, the B5 will probably get its LSD at one time, maybe they're developing it today. The point is if they want to differentiate themselves from M-cars they will have to come up with something very soon. Why not a new turbo version? I still remember the legendary B7 turbos and the B10 biturbo. Why not a D5? An E60 with a V8 biturbo diesel engine from the 745d with some extra horses under the bonnet. Now how about that for an idea Andy?
So you think even more torque is the answer???
It's a funny thing - Autocar raved about the traction of the B7, but finds the traction of the B5 appalling. Either they're totally inconsistent or the problem is in the difference between the two cars - less weight, narrower track, smaller wheels & tyres. Of course, there's no M7 to compare with, only various AMG products...
So you think even more torque is the answer??? ...
You're right this would only increase the problem. I was only trying to point out that if Alpina wants to keep its special image they have to come up with special cars. The B5 is too close to the M5 for its own good. Alpina always came up with very special cars in the past. Your B8 4.6 is a perfect example of their power to innovate and to surprise.
They were also a testbed for the biturbo diesel engine (D10) and Andy Bovensiepen was very much involved as an engineer at BMW in the development of the 535d engine (first tested by BMW on their Dakar X5). If I remember correctly he even won the Nurburgring 24h in a BMW 320d with the BMW works team.
I wouldn't worry about Alpina in the long run. Regardless if Burkhard or Andy Bovensiepen is at the helm. They have a very strong following. And even if BMW takes over completely, they will keep the name in honour, they also remember what Alpina did for BMW in the 60's and 70's.
May be the future of Alpina lies in answers from the past. Remember the 555 Alpina Roadsters based on the Z8? Maybe that's what they are planning. A series of very special and limited editions of the B-cars. Time will tell.
Had there been no M5 E60 there wouldn't have been a discussion in the first place, the Alpina would have been n°1 on everyones list, beating everything from Audi or Mercedes. Today it has to share those two top spots with that very special car from Motorsport. Some will prefer the M5, others will still opt for the B5. So in the end both will have their buyers. Untill the LSD comes keep on slipping unlimited.
Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't DSC a form of electronic LSD? I wanna say I remember reading some webposts about how BMW equipped cars with DSC that was supposed to be a form of LSD though not necessarily a suitable replacement. Anyone know anything about this? Might explain the situation with the B5 if thats the case.
Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't DSC a form of electronic LSD? I wanna say I remember reading some webposts about how BMW equipped cars with DSC that was supposed to be a form of LSD though not necessarily a suitable replacement. Anyone know anything about this? Might explain the situation with the B5 if thats the case.
Not quite - a mechanical LSD will always be more effective in transmitting torque through the wheels for maximum forward thrust - the DSC works by cutting engine torque and/or applying brakes to specific wheels. Alpina apparently reprogrammed the standard E60 DSC to allow more controlled slip at the back end than normal, depending on whether it's a slow controlled drift or a wild spin - kind of a crude yaw control feature, I suppose.
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