Famed factory-endorsed modifiers of BMW vehicles, Alpina, have stuck their nose into yet another of the Munich outfits models. This time, it’s their new X3 SUV, specifically the one with the diesel 3.0-litre 6-pot.
Meet the Alpina XD3, which we dare say would easily surpass even the most potent (sub-M) treatment applied to the X3 M40i. It’s got the numbers to back it up too, with a whopping 770Nm available at peak and 289kW, which has been achieved mostly through turbocharger tuning and additional cooling.
Alpina has become a little more known lately for its forays into high performance diesel BMWs over petrol ones, given the choice. The inherent torque advantage and low-revving nature of the oil burners seem to play well into the brand’s philosophy of equally prioritising handling and effortless comfort.
The result of all that sheer grunt is a 0-100km/h sprint time that’s 0.2 seconds more rapid than the X3 M40i, at 4.6 seconds. Allow it to run on a straight-enough road, and it will only run out of urge when it hits 266km/h. Sadly, though, due to packaging constraints, the quad-turbo set up that allows for such a turn of speed isn’t possible with right-hand drive configurations.
Markets like the UK and, ahem, Australia, will likely be receiving the slightly more sedate twin-turbo version of the 3.0-litre mill, though that still produces an impressive 248kW and 700Nm. Acceleration and top speed gets adjusted to 4.9 seconds and 254km/h, respectively.
The rest of the car’s changes can be summed up as being classic Alpina. It’s all very subdued, stylistically, with the maximum amount of flourish coming from the snow plow chin spoiler and signature forged lightweight Alpina 20-inch wheels (22-inchers are an optional).
We’ll have more on the Alpina XD3 in its quad-turbo glory once it makes its full debut at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show.
For more on Alpina and BMW vehicles, check out our Showroom.
