Chris Harris (normally an Alpina fan) reckoned it was a step backward from the B10 V8S, nowhere near as good as the M5 and that one should seriously consider a 535d as an alternative.
He seemed to imply that the M5 has a stiffer body structure, which is not my understanding. He also seemed to have trouble pulling away cleanly, without lighting up the traction control - I didn't have any trouble with this on wet potholed London roads, so can only assume he doesn't really understand the concept of delicate throttle inputs.
Apart from that, he's got a fair point about the lack of an LSD and of the rest his implied criticism is that there are no longer enough bespoke components in the key parts (i.e. suspension) of the latest Alpinas.
He did concede, however, that the B5 was probably the best car on the motorways and in town - so that's me sorted!
__________________
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
I managed to keep the traction control light flashing on a dry, straight, flat road from 40 to 130mph! I also had trouble specifying something on my B5 to differentiate it from any other E60 - not even a rear spoiler on the Touring, all bog standard. So the car is no longer 'special' and is definitely not a track car (although Andy Bovenseipen did his best to convince me otherwise around Donnington) due to the lack of LSD.
The M5 is a fantastic machine and it is probably the best of the three in the context of the review. Back in the real world however the B5 is still king. For example yesterday I did a 200 mile round trip, for ten of those miles I felt even the B10 was underpowered and despite making 'good progress' on a country road never once did I need the intervention of an LSD - I was taught driving on the technology was unnecessary. For the other 190 miles I could have been in a van and still got to my destination in the same time. So on a cold, wet Friday evening with 190 miles to go (welcome to my world) I know which car I would want to be in.
The review does raise the question has Alpina lost the plot and are the B series now just a CMO (cynical marketing opportunity)? It is clear Mr BB has retired to his wine cache and Mr AB was reluctantly drafted in to run the business. The engineering is still there but the total package sign-off may not be, with the cars being built on the BMW production line with resultant compromises. European sales are in free fall but I overheard that "Alpina's future in now assured" following their recent meeting with BMW. Entry to the US or buy-out possibly?
I managed to keep the traction control light flashing on a dry, straight, flat road from 40 to 130mph! I also had trouble specifying something on my B5 to differentiate it from any other E60 - not even a rear spoiler on the Touring, all bog standard. So the car is no longer 'special' and is definitely not a track car (although Andy Bovenseipen did his best to convince me otherwise around Donnington) due to the lack of LSD.
The M5 is a fantastic machine and it is probably the best of the three in the context of the review. Back in the real world however the B5 is still king. For example yesterday I did a 200 mile round trip, for ten of those miles I felt even the B10 was underpowered and despite making 'good progress' on a country road never once did I need the intervention of an LSD - I was taught driving on the technology was unnecessary. For the other 190 miles I could have been in a van and still got to my destination in the same time. So on a cold, wet Friday evening with 190 miles to go (welcome to my world) I know which car I would want to be in.
The review does raise the question has Alpina lost the plot and are the B series now just a CMO (cynical marketing opportunity)? It is clear Mr BB has retired to his wine cache and Mr AB was reluctantly drafted in to run the business. The engineering is still there but the total package sign-off may not be, with the cars being built on the BMW production line with resultant compromises. European sales are in free fall but I overheard that "Alpina's future in now assured" following their recent meeting with BMW. Entry to the US or buy-out possibly?
Both, I am expecting...
__________________
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
so can only assume he doesn't really understand the concept of delicate throttle inputs.
I would be surprised...Harris has driven just about every sportscar who can throw a stick at, both road and track, including the serious machines such as Caterham R500's etc etc which do require proper throttle control
__________________ BMW's:
2007 535d Sport Touring
2004 E60 545i SE
2005 E60 M5
2002 Mini Cooper S
2001 M3 Conv
2000 330 ci
1998 Z3 2.8
1997 M3 Conv
I would be surprised...Harris has driven just about every sportscar who can throw a stick at, both road and track, including the serious machines such as Caterham R500's etc etc which do require proper throttle control
He has just sold a Porsche 996 GT2 and bought a Porsche 993 GT2, so yes he does understand throttle control..................
Just read his review - he really slates the B5 ( though nice to see his comments about the B10 V8S ). I haven't driven a B5 but I have tried a 535d SE - he thought the ride on the 535 Sport was alright, but I thought the ride on the SE was crap ( and so assume the Sport is even worse, which is what a lot of my friends have said ). It was why a bought a B10 V8S instead. It is all about how you feel about these things - he would appear to be not that sensitive to ride quality, in which case the appeal of the B5 over the M5 would be very limited. Then again, he splashed his own money out on a C55, so he can't really claim to know THAT much about cars.... ( I tried one and found it awful and a quick way to loose lots of money )
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.
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