Alpina Is Celebrating Its 50th Birthday With A Limited Edition 204mph Super Saloon

Alpina has a long and famous history of tuning BMWs, and it wants to celebrate that fact with two very special, limited edition cars. As a 50th birthday present to its customers, it is making 50 saloons (or estates) and 50 coupes with an ‘extensively revised V8’ to ensure these are the fastest road cars it has ever made.

Called ‘Edition 50’, the cars will be based on the Bi-Turbo versions of the B5 and B6, with special hand-crafted body and trim features. More importantly, however, is that V8. It’s a bi-turbo 4.4-litre unit, which has been tuned to make 591bhp and 590lb ft of torque. That results in a 0-62mph time of just 4.2 seconds, and an astonishing top speed of 204mph.

Improvements over the original BMW V8 include Alpina-specific turbochargers located between the cylinder banks, working in parallel, delivering up to 1.2bar, with their own special water-cooled intercoolers. There’s also a shorter air intake, new lightweight pistons, an air-cooled intercooler behind the front bumper and larger oil radiator. For the Edition 50, further improvements to the induction system and a high-capacity fuel injection system contribute to the 59bhp improvement over the standard B5 Bi-Turbo.

Styling-wise, there are a few subtle changes over the standard B5, including aerodynamic improvements made in BMW’s wind tunnel. The iconic Alpina design wheels have been tweaked, meaning they are now 15.6kg lighter than the previous 20-inch design despite increasing in width (nine inches front, 10 inches rear). The lightweight titanium exhaust system from Akrapovic saves a further 17kg over a stainless steel system.

Inside there are further nods to this being a unique model, with a plaque in front of the passenger displaying the signature of the company founder Burkard Bovensiepen. Each car’s production number will also be displayed on a plaque in the car and on the keyring.

The fact Alpina has made a 200mph+ saloon at all is worth celebrating, but the fact you can cruise at those speeds in sumptuous comfort is even more special. You’ve got to love what Alpina is doing.