Alpina B6 flexes BMW 6 Series Muscle in Tokyo
As one of our beloved models, the 2012 BMW 6 Series is pretty hard to fault. Still, there’s plenty of tuning companies out there that think there’s room for improvement.
When it comes to genuine tuning for a Bavarian products Alpina is definitely one of the biggest names you can call for help.
That’s why when Alpina announced the unveiling of their B6 tune for the F12 cruiser at the Tokyo Motor Show, we were bursting with joy.
BMW’s 4.4 liter twin turbo V8 engine gets a few tweaks, from what you’d usually get in the F12 6 Series, in the form of a new intercooler and a new exhaust.
The latter was developed in conjunction with specialist tuner Akrapovic, is made out of titanium and certainly doesn’t focus on being quieter.
Alpina’s tweaks to the engine ensure for a new performance output of 540 horsepower and 516 lb-ft of torque. With that in mind it’s no surprise to see that it takes 4.4 seconds to go from 0 to 62 and that the top speed figure stops just 1 mile short of the magic 200 mph.
A modest re-tweak of the suspension is included in the Alpina B6 package together with a re-calibration of the traction control and ESP software. They’re there to ensure that even though you have some extra grunt, you don’t get caught out by it.
On the visual front the F12 BMW 6 Series gets Alpina’s traditional over-sized (but light) 20 inch multi-spoke alloy wheels and a few subtle aerodynamic mods.
Inside the Alpina B6 we see more of the same. Everything gets a very subtle refresh, just enough to feel different, special, if you will.