Alpina B3 sedan confirmed for Oz

The Alpina B3 sedan has been given the stamp of approval for Australia, where the BMW 3 Series-based performance sedan will go on sale by the end of 2020.

First unveiled at this year’s Tokyo motor show, the German sports sedan shares its mechanicals with the Alpina B3 Touring, which will become available around the same time here in the second half of next year.

Under the bonnet beats a high-output version of BMW’s latest B58 3.0-litre inline turbo-petrol six dubbed S58 and offering no less than 340kW of power and 700Nm of torque.

That means the Alpina B3 has more power and torque than the new 275kW/500Nm BMW M340i xDrive, and also more torque than the BMW X3 and X4 M models, which run a 375kW/600Nm version of the same engine that will also see duty in the new BMW M3 and M4.

The result is claimed 0-100km/h acceleration for the Alpina B3 sedan in just 3.8 seconds (3.9 for Touring) – at least half a second quicker than the M340i.

Like its BMW sister model, the Alpina B3 comes standard with an all-wheel drive system, but Alpina says its rear torque bias provides for “incredible agility” and that the system is able to transfer torque to the front axle for “maximum traction when the situation demands”.

Power, also like the M340i, is sent through an eight-speed automatic transmission and adaptive dampers allow drivers to choose between Sport, Comfort and Comfort+ modes.

Stopping power comes from four-piston callipers up front and floating-piston callipers at the rear, all painted Alpina Blue. Other features include twin exhaust outlets, a boot lid spoiler and large air intakes up front.

Inside the B3 cabin it’s leather galore, from a hand-stitched steering wheel to fully customisable seating as well as tech such as navigation, voice recognition and a full colour digital instrument cluster.

Alpina Australia says local B3 pricing and details will be revealed closer to the model’s launch date in 2020.