Alpina D4 S is a diesel performance 4 Series | GRR
Diesel’s not dead yet! Ask Alpina. Its latest model, the D4 S, is the BMW go-faster division’s take on the oil-fired 4 Series Gran Coupe. While diesel might not be flavour of the month – indeed, BMW itself offers no equivalent model in the UK – at the hands of an outfit like Alpina it still can make a case for itself. Or so they hope.
Alpina says the D4 S Gran Coupe is “for high-mileage drivers who value low fuel consumption but do not want to compromise on performance and dynamics”. That used to be a familiar diesel battle cry and – £2 a gallon at the black pump notwithstanding – is not without appeal today. Just look at the figures.
Here we have a machine that can get from 0-62mph in 4.8 seconds and from 0-124mph in under 20. You want torque? You got it: 730Nm from 1,750rpm. Top speed is 168mph.
More important, there’s the not inconsequential matter of an easy 500-mile plus touring range thanks to a 59-litre tank and WLTP-standard 41mpg average fuel consumption. You high-mileage drivers out there, still want that battery-electric car?
This is the second new Alpina since BMW bought the long-established but previously independent tuning house in March this year. The first was another 4 Series Gran Coupe, the petrol-powered B4. Adding a diesel equivalent to the range – in what is really a niche of a niche – is a step towards an expected AMG-like model proliferation of Alpina variants as the brand heads towards total integration within the BMW group by 2025.
Under the bonnet sits an Alpina version of BMW’s turbocharged 3.0-litre straight six, still a great motor if not hailed any more as all the engine most people would ever need.
In the D4 it’s a hybrid but a half-hearted one, its 48-volt electric starter-generator doing little more than sharpening throttle response at low revs. The D4 S is all-wheel-drive, with the expected rearward bias to power delivery. There’s an eight-speed automatic and electronic diff to limit slip across the rear axle.
Power peaks at 355PS (261kW) at 4,000rpm and there’s maximum torque of 730Nm (538lb ft) from 1,750rpm. With the only BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe diesel being the 190PS 420d, the closest you can get to this power and performance in the official BMW range is the petrol M Sport 440i.
The re-engineering is typically thorough, with Alpina intercoolers and a high-performance cooling system. The suspension is tweaked with more front negative camber, stiffer anti-roll bar and bespoke spring and damper settings.
The changes are said to add dynamism while retaining a good ride in comfort mode, despite the high-spec rubber on the lightweight forged alloy 20-inch wheels: Pirelli P-Zeros of 255/35 at the front and 285/30 rear. An option is drilled composite brake discs.
Signature 20-spoke Alpina wheels, front spoiler and body stripes constitute the expected understated Alpina style makeover. In realty, setting your Alpina apart from the BMW herd has far more to do with the multitude of paint and trim choices that buyers of mainstream BMW products can’t have.
Inside the D4 S Gran Coupe gets features as standard you might normally pay extra for – heated seats and steering wheel for example – and there’s a wealth of upholstery choices from Alpina’s in-house leather workshop.
All at a price, of course. In Germany that’s €79,700 without options, or about £68,500 – or £10,000 more than BMW will charge you for an M440i. BMW or Alpina? Petrol or diesel? What would you have?