Alpina B8 Gran Coupe 2021 Review

BMW already supplies plenty of car with the M850i xDrive Gran Coupe (from $277,900) and the M8 Competition Gran Coupe (from $354,900).

At $322,900 plus on-road costs, the 2021 Alpina B8 Gran Coupe – which is due to arrive in Australia late this year – slots in neatly between BMW’s two top-shelf four-door luxury coupes.

It’s positioned well for a car that turns out to be better than either of its cousins.

Yes, there are interior tweaks, but they’re more classy than comprehensive, with Alpina trim on the door sills and the steering wheel, plus a build number plate on the centre console and a laser-etched Alpina logo inside the ‘crystal’ (err, plastic) clear gear selector.

The seat and dash trim and piping materials are exquisite, with the Alpina logo in the head restraints, and the finishing and quality control is better, even, than BMW can manage.

It carries heated seats (ventilated at the front), a leather instrument panel and dashboard, BMW’s Live Cockpit Professional, four-zone climate control, 16-speaker Harman Kardon audio, a panoramic glass sunroof, BMW’s best parking assistance system, electric rear sun blinds, and plenty more.

It’s a big list, but it keeps going. There are the options, which include a Bowers & Wilkins Diamond surround-sound system, a universal remote control, BMW’s drive recorder, sun-protection glass, a carbon roof and a high-performance braking system.

Added confidence comes from the Alpina B8’s addition to the BMW service and warranty network, with a three-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty, roadside assistance and coverage under BMW’s Service Inclusive program.

With all of the homologation requirements demanded of car-makers these days, it’s little surprise that the 2021 Alpina B8 Gran Coupe carries over the full suite of BMW safety tech.

It draws heavily on the BMW M850i xDrive specification, so it uses its alarm system, its display key, the same climate-comfort windscreen, the same long-range laser headlights and the same dynamic safety package that pre-sets the car before a crash.

The B8 has Bluetooth with wireless charging, of course, plus Apple CarPlay and the ever-improving “Hey, BMW” voice-control assistant.

It also uses night vision (thermal imaging) cameras with built-in pedestrian recognition and tyre pressure monitoring.

Alpina gives the B8 Gran Coupe a set of custom Bilstein dampers for the adaptive damping system, with an extra Comfort+ setting to calm the savage beast.

It also uses a set of custom Eibach springs at each corner, and extracts greater stiffness out of the front-end by using hydro-bushes, more strut support and stiffer lower wishbone mounts.

There’s also a reinforced front anti-roll bar and all the bushes have been tuned.

Alpina has found more power from the 4.4-litre biturbo V8 for the 2021 Alpina B8 Gran Coupe than there is from the BMW M850i. But it’s the added 50Nm of torque (now up to 800Nm) over both the stock V8 and the M8 that makes the most obvious difference.

With 457kW of power, the B8 takes a 67kW lead over the M850i and is just 3kW shy of the M8 Competition Gran Coupe.

It takes the lead over the M8 where it counts, with its 800Nm available from 2000rpm and holding on until 5000 revs, while the power peak hits at 5500-6500rpm. That’s a wider power peak than the M850i xDrive (5500-6000rpm).

Alpina uses its own mapping, but also adds two twin-scroll 54mm turbochargers for throttle response and torque. It then throws in its own cooling system boasting 50 per cent more surface area than the stock units.

There is also a change to the exhaust system, with its own stainless-steel quad-pipe set-up that has a wider range of sound performance, from much quieter than the BMW and M options to every bit as loud.

There has been a complete overhaul of the suspension, with new springs and dampers and bushes and an uprated limited-slip differential.

The brakes are 395mm cross-drilled rotors at the front and 398mm at the rear, while it uses four-piston Brembo callipers at the front.

The Pirelli P Zero Alp tyres are custom-made for the B8 – 245/35ZR21 at the front and 285/30ZR21 at the rear – and it uses Alpina’s own wheel design.

The B8 Gran Coupe actually reduces the track width at the front by 4mm and the rear by 5mm, and it gains 90kg to register 2175kg.

You realise from the first kerb that Alpina has made a different kind of beast with the 2021 Alpina B8 Gran Coupe.

It retains the depth of sound from the V8, even at idle, but it’s mellower and less pervasive than it is in the M8.

But it’s the ride that immediately leaps out at you.

From the first rain gutter, the Alpina B8 is so compliant that it makes the M8 feel like a sled. It’s still on 30-profile rear tyres and it’s obvious that Alpina has thought more about the tyre contact patch than it has about marketing perceptions of in-your-face sportiness.

The car hustles along real-world roads better than the M8 because its more absorbent ride keeps the rubber on the road longer, is more comfortable and inspires more confidence at the same time.

It’s a lovely place to sit, the seats are supportive and there’s an enormous range of powertrain, skid-control, traction-control and damper settings drivers can choose from. People who love it, use it. People who don’t love it simply toggle between Sport and Comfort.

Alpina has developed a car that works in every condition and can be used every day, by anybody.

Yes, there’s enormous urge, hammering to 100km/h in 3.4 seconds – 0.5sec slower than the M8 Competition, but 0.5sec quicker than the M850i – but it lives on torque.

There’s no need to shuffle around the eight automatic gears on the paddle shifters because the torque means it can relax for daily driving.

And it feels like it has more grip when it’s attacking a road, too, with a unique bellow from its exhaust system and enormous power and precision from both the brakes and the tyres.

It’s a sweetheart.

A company like Alpina isn’t obligated to operate by the numbers or public perceptions and they’re free to deliver a car that’s simply the best car it can make. And it has.

The 2021 Alpina B8 Gran Coupe is magnificent.

It’s not quite as quick as an M8, but once a car punches to 100km/h below four seconds, it scarcely matters.

It’s more polished than either of the V8 8 Series long cars, and it has a broader range of operation, too. Its gentlest operating mode is more comfortable and quiet than the BMW models and its hard-core modes are every bit as agile and sound even better.

The interior, too, is delightful and the constant reminders of the BMW core (like “Hey, BMW” or the BMW Bluetooth signal) will either be comforting that they’ve left well enough alone there, or slightly frustrating.

Frankly, we’d have the B8 over either the M850i or M8 Gran Coupe.

It’s that good.

How much does the 2021 Alpina B8 Gran Coupe cost?
Price: $322,900 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Late 2021
Engine: 4.4-litre V8 twin-turbo petrol
Output: 457kW/800Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel: 11.1L/100km (WLTP)
CO2: 254g/km (WLTP)
Safety rating: Not tested

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