Let’s simply begin with the design. Simply take a look at it. The ALPINA B8 Gran Coupe is bite-the-back-of-your-fist lovely. The form, the refined physique strains, the ALPINA-specific bumpers, and — in fact — the always-gorgeous iconic ALPINA wheels create a visible masterpiece that reminds us what BMW design can obtain when it’s firing on all cylinders.
The 8 Sequence Gran Coupe already represents BMW design at its absolute peak — arguably the final really lovely automobile to emerge from Munich earlier than the controversial design path of current years. The proportions are flawless: lengthy hood, sweeping roofline, muscular haunches. It’s traditional BMW GT coupe language executed to perfection, the religious successor to the legendary E31 8 Sequence however with trendy athleticism. Even base 840i fashions flip heads. It’s the form of automobile that appears quick standing nonetheless, the type that makes you admire why BMW as soon as dominated the luxurious efficiency phase on design alone.
However the ALPINA-specific adjustments elevate it additional. The decrease entrance lip provides aggression with out the overwrought drama of current M automobile entrance ends. These killer ALPINA wheels — the traditional multi-spoke design that’s been refined over a long time — fill the arches completely with a timeless class that makes them immediately recognizable. The rear bumper tidily wraps round quad exhaust pipes with a stage of integration and purposefulness that’s turn out to be uncommon in an period of faux vents and black plastic cladding.
The B8 additionally is available in two ALPINA-specific colours — ALPINA Blue Metallic and ALPINA Inexperienced Metallic. Each have been ALPINA signatures all through the model’s historical past, immediately signaling to those that know that this isn’t simply one other tuned BMW. These are manufacturing facility colours with heritage, not catalog choices.
The ALPINA Distinction
Right here’s what separates ALPINA from each different tuner that’s ever bolted elements onto a BMW: they’re producers, not modifiers. Every B8 Gran Coupe is hand-built in Buchloe, Germany, with a stage of consideration that even BMW’s personal M division doesn’t fairly match. The inside receives ALPINA-specific touches all through — distinctive stitching patterns, refined badging, a numbered plaque, and that beautiful ALPINA steering wheel. Every thing you contact feels richer, extra intentionally crafted.
And with BMW’s acquisition of ALPINA accomplished in late 2025, the B8 Gran Coupe represents the top of an period. That is the final era of true ALPINA-made earlier than full integration into BMW AG. That makes these vehicles traditionally important in the identical means the final E46 M3s or last naturally-aspirated 911s turned collectible. We’re watching automotive historical past occur in real-time.
Proper now, 2025 B8 Gran Coupes are listed between $155,000-$160,000. For context, that’s lower than a loaded M8 Competitors Gran Coupe value new, however you’re getting one thing infinitely extra particular. Hand-built. Extra restricted manufacturing. A 50-year pedigree. And albeit, higher appears to be like than the M8.
Engineering The place It Counts
Underneath the hood sits a monster 4.4-liter twin-turbo V8 that shares structure with each the N63 in commonplace 8 Sequence fashions and the S63 in M8s, however follows its personal path. ALPINA tears down the N63 and rebuilds it their means: new pistons, bigger twin-scroll turbochargers, upgraded intercooler, revised consumption and exhaust manifolds, and a whole exhaust system.
The outcome? 612 horsepower and 590 lb-ft of torque. That’s 5 hp shy of the M8 Competitors however critically, 37 lb-ft extra torque. And for those who’ve pushed each, you realize that torque distinction is precisely the place ALPINA’s philosophy diverges from M’s. The M8 needs to scream. The B8 needs to surge.
ALPINA claims 3.3 seconds to 60 mph — possibly a tenth slower than the M8 Competitors on paper, however in the actual world, it feels each bit as devastatingly fast. The distinction is within the supply. The eight-speed ZF automated receives ALPINA-specific tuning, providing a singular refinement.
The Way forward for ALPINA Underneath BMW
Right here’s the uncomfortable fact: we don’t actually know the way the ALPINA model will develop beneath BMW possession. To this point, we’ve heard a couple of new B7 and XB7, which tells us BMW sees ALPINA’s future in sedans and SUVs — the quantity sellers. However nothing concrete on different merchandise, particularly coupes.
That stated, understanding BMW’s historic affinity for luxurious coupes — and the present hole of their portfolio — we’d be shocked if we don’t see a minimum of an ALPINA coupe idea sooner or later. It really makes excellent enterprise sense. BMW wants a flagship luxurious coupe to compete within the ultra-premium phase alongside Mercedes-Maybach and even Bentley, particularly since Rolls-Royce doesn’t supply a two-door anymore.
An ALPINA grand coupe, priced north of $200,000 with hand-finished inside particulars, bespoke coloration choices, and that signature ALPINA refinement may slot completely into this white area. Consider it because the anti-Maybach — much less ostentatious, extra driver-focused, however equally unique and splendid. It’s a pure evolution of what the B8 Gran Coupe already represents.
Whether or not BMW has the imaginative and prescient to pursue this stays to be seen. However the B8 Gran Coupe proves the method works.
A Future Traditional, Proper Now
The E31 8 Sequence is now a six-figure collectible. The E9 3.0 CSL is approaching half one million. Even clear E46 M3s are fetching $40k-$50k. The ALPINA B8 Gran Coupe is that automobile for the subsequent era.
It represents the final of one thing: impartial ALPINA, naturally, but in addition the final gasp of BMW’s traditional grand tourer philosophy in the beginning turned both an electrified crossover or a observe weapon. It’s lovely with out the controversial styling experiments. It’s highly effective with out chasing spec-sheet numbers. It’s unique with out being unobtainable.
Years from now, after we would possibly driving electrical 8 Sequence crossovers with illuminated kidneys, we’ll look again on the ALPINA B8 Gran Coupe and acknowledge it for what it’s: one of many final instances BMW — by ALPINA — constructed precisely the automobile they need to have been constructing all alongside.
It’s a future traditional that you could nonetheless purchase immediately.
