Alpina B8 GT revealed as firm’s final and most powerful car

Alpina has revealed the B8 GT, its final model as an independent entity.

The company formally known as Alpina Burkard Bovensiepen GmbH + Co KG will cease to exist after 31 December 2025, with ownership of the Alpina brand transferring to BMW.

The B8 GT is therefore the final ‘proper’ Alpina, following the similarly conceived B3 GT and B4 GT.

Based on the BMW 8 Series, it represents the culmination of the brand’s engineering capabilities, packing the most powerful engine it has ever fitted in a production car.

Its 4.4-litre twin-turbocharged V8 (shared with the B5 GT) is fettled to put out 625bhp and 627lb ft, yielding a 0-62mph sprint time of just 3.3sec. It will hit 124mph just 7.2sec later and go on to a top speed of 205mph.

Alpina said it has also modified the 8 Series’ four-wheel drive system and electronic differential for greater agility, sending a greater share of the engine’s power to the rear wheels.

A new bulkhead strut is said to boost front-end feel and responsiveness and the suspension is tauter for improved body control at higher speeds.

As well as the modifications under the skin, the B8 GT brings a number of aesthetic changes, with carbonfibre trim elements around the car and a new set of canards flanking the front splitter.

The B8 GT rides on Alpina’s signature 21in wheels shod in Alpine-specific Pirelli P Zero tyres, measuring 245mm wide up front and 285mm wide at the rear.

Inside, there are a number of references to Alpine founder Burkard Bovensiepen: his signature is embroidered into the front bucket seats and features along the door sills with backlighting. 

The interior is upholstered primarily in Merino leather, while Alcantara features along the seat centres and headlining. 

Just 99 examples of the B8 GT will ever be built, each priced from €225,000 (£190,000). That makes it the rarest and most expensive of the firm’s final three cars.

Deliveries are earmarked to begin in July 2025 and production is expected to end before winter.

Thereafter, Alpina will become a sub-brand of BMW in the same sense as its M motorsport division.

Former Polestar designer Maximilian Missoni was named the new design boss of Alpina in September 2024.

BMW has yet to clarify what form future Alpinas will take, whether they be highly modified BMWs (as they are today), bespoke models or simply variants of mainstream models.