The partnership between BMW South Africa and Alpina stretches back four decades. That’s impressive. So, let’s take a (quick; yes, we’ll keep it short) glance back in this collaboration’s history. The iconic 333i was born from this partnership. Okay, that’s it. Let’s continue to the latest collaborative car between these two marques.
Enter the Alpina B3 50 Years of BMW South Africa edition. Looks cool, doesn’t it? Want one? Well, unfortunately, all five units, priced at R2 960 341.20 a pop, of this SA-only special edition are already sold out. Yup, you read that right.
Undoubtedly set to become a sought-after performance sedan, this model is exclusively dressed in Alpina Green II metallic paint. The latter hue is contrasted by a striking chrome-trimmed grille, replete with chrome-finished slats, and stylish 20-inch Alpina Classic wheels.
Of course, as this car celebrates a half century of BMW SA, it features several commemorative elements, reserved for the interior So let’s step inside…
The cabin features BMW SA’s 50 Years anniversary logo, embroidered on the Merino leather front seats’ headrests. There’s also a plaque, sited on the centre console, indicating the unit number and “50 Years an Icon, BMW South Africa” lettering.
Other interior elements include Alpina embellishments, such as Alpina door sills. An Alpina Switch-Tronic sport steering wheel, replete with aluminium paddle shifters, bearing the Lavalina design is also present. The tiller is wrapped in leather and features bespoke contrast stitching.
Of course, as this is an Alpina, the power and torque outputs have been lifted. And we do mean lifted. This special edition’s 3.0-litre six-cylinder engine, replete with a duo of Alpina-specific mono-scroll turbochargers, produces 364 kW and 730 Nm of torque. The former is available from 5 000 to 7 000 r/min, with the latter coming in at 2 500 r/min. Power and torque are sent to all four corners via an eight-speed automatic transmission.
According to the firm, the limited-edition model dispatches the 0-100 km/h sprint in 3.6 seconds, before topping out at 305 km/h.
