BMW's best five-door car madesupercar fast.

Alpina has revealed its latest take on BMW’s 5 Series, and it includes a wonderfully potent station wagon. Alpina has had a prolific May 2020, showcasing both the XB7and the DS 3.

The German engineering specialist is renowned for adding power, pace and a sense of grace to BMW’s products. With its new B5 package, Alpina also addresses an issue which has haunted BMW ever since the e60 range was discontinued: the question of an M5 station wagon.

Styling upgrades for the B5 are subtle and stylish. Alpina adds a reshaped front bumper with 40% larger air intakes than you’d find on a factory 5 Series and its B5 rolls multi-spoke 20-inch wheels which are a signature style item, on all Alpinas.

What really qualifies this B5 station wagon as the true successor to BMW’s M5 estate car heritage, is under the bonnet. Alpina’s technicians have managed to liberate some tidy numbers from the BMW 4.4-litre twin-turbocharged V8 engine.

Power peaks at 457 kW, supported by 800 Nm of torque. Those numbers compare very favourably with the M5 Competition figures of 460 kW and 750 Nm. To ensure the required acoustic drama, there are Alpina dual-outlet sports exhausts, which exit at each corner of the remoulded rear bumper.

Performance claims are dramatic, as one would expect. Alpina says that its B5 station wagon will run a benchmark 0-100 kph in only 3.6 seconds, before reaching a true top speed of 322 kph. Those numbers conclusively settle any argument that this Alpina B5 is anything but a true M5 station wagon substitute.

To improve the B5’s high-speed tracking stability, it is equipped with adaptive dampers and utilizes rear-wheel steering. With an ability to turn the rear wheels 2.3-degrees to the left or right, Alpina’s B5 should make the best of its inherently more stable station wagon aerodynamics, guaranteeing excellent steering feedback at very high speeds.

Pricing

The price for this ‘all-but-in-name’ M5 station wagon? European orders are due for fulfilment in October, at an estimated R2.2m per five-door B5.

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