[Bart B]

New from Alpina and on show at Frankfurt ... Alpina D3, a E90 320d with 200bhp and 400 Nm of torque. Top speed should be 238 km/h and a sprint from 0 to 100 km/h will take about 7,4s.

The future of Alpina lies in powerful Diesels? But why a 4cyl? Andy Bovensiepen's way of saying he's at the helm? Raced the 4cyl diesel at the 24h Nurburgring a couple of years ago. And won the race, the only diesel to win overall at the Eifel ever. I guess it's Alpina showing how important diesel-cars have become in the old world. Diesels are almost as powerful as 'normal' petrol engines (ok not the M-cars), are easier to drive because of their pulling power at low revs and are much more economical than their petrol rivals. Today with gas-prices going through the roof certainly an issue. Or was it because Alpina haven't finished developing their new 6cyl-petrol engine yet?

What are they preparing for us in the future? Why not a Alpina D3Biturbo (E90 335d)?

And since we're speculating, how about a D5, a E60 5-series with a V8 diesel in the front. Ok.... I know too much torque for the E60-chassis, already has problems with the B5 Kompressor-engine......

 

[Deckard]

single turbo, 200hp is disappointing. I'd have expected more.

 

[Gimlet]

When is the anticipated launch date for the D3?

I was not expecting an E90 variant for another 12 months at least.

 

[kees]

I don't quite understand the positioning of the D3 - it's going to have a tough time against the - also to be launched in Frankfurt - 330d with 228hp/500Nm. The D3 also doesn't seem to be such a big step forward over the 320d with 163hp/340Nm.

 

[Gustav]

200 HP

Looks nice however and hope a nice petrol engine 3-serios comes out

 

[Cor-Jan]

I don't quite understand the positioning of the D3 - it's going to have a tough time against the - also to be launched in Frankfurt - 330d with 228hp/500Nm. The D3 also doesn't seem to be such a big step forward over the 320d with 163hp/340Nm.

Looks like it fills the gap between 320 and 330 very nice.

 

[Danish]

This goes against Alpina's own philosophy of making cars with a topspeed of more than 250km/h. It looks like they are selling out on their old values, but that is old news anyway. Disappointing.

 

[fastsaloons]

I suppose the only thing may be it has great fuel economy - e.g. good performance but even better economy.

But it does seem odd that it doesn't even top the 330 - normally it slots between the top and the M...

The only exception I can think of was the 3.3 which didn't out power the 540 but did have far superior steering/handling etc.

It does seem a little off field...

 

[Gimlet]

Is there any/where can I get more information on this ?

I do not intend to sell my Roadster S, but this would be an ideal car to replace my Volvo with as I drive circa 35K miles per year for Business.

 

[kees]

The car isn't really announced yet by Alpina but leaked by AutoZeitung. The official press days are Wednesday and Thursday, so we should hear all the details in the next 2 days.

 

[Sherlock]

Just had the price information from Alpina : € 36,000 in Germany. Cheapest Alpina ever . I doubt that for such price they re-work the engine with new pistons, crank, ... May be just a chip thing. Let's see what they announce.

 

[kees]

Just had the price information from Alpina : € 36,000 in Germany. Cheapest Alpina ever . I doubt that for such price they re-work the engine with new pistons, crank, ... May be just a chip thing. Let's see what they announce.

I agree...this is not looking too good unless Alpina have some tricks up their sleeves to gain performance advantage.

That means the following line-up:
320d 163hp/340Nm €30,700
D3 200hp/400Nm €36,000
330d 231hp/500Nm €37,600

 

[Cor-Jan]

it has to be very good then to not let people pay a extra €1600,- for the 330d.

 

[fastsaloons]

Here is the official English press release for the new D3....

ALPINA D3 Press Release here....

 

[kees]

The torque curve is very nice - 400Nm for over 1500rpm.

The 330d engine is 100-150kg heavier than the 320d/D3 engine, so that would ruin the handling. However I'm still not sure that this Alpina is a real Alpina.

 

[hythe]

Is it just me, or is that a very un-Alpina-like press release?

I guess it's been more than 20 years since Alpina made a 4 cyl car - the old A-series E21 cars.

It really does seem that Alpina is gradually just becoming another model in the BMW range. I can see why Alpina wanted to do a diesel, but why start with the 320d? Although, having said that, a model sitting above the 335d wouldn't make too much sense - too expensive and pretty average fuel economy. But it would be really really fast!