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2020 Alpina B3 Touring teased

Sports wagon lovers, rejoice! No, BMW still hasn’t developed an M3 Touring but BMW tuner Alpina has once again stepped up to help fill the void.


Auto Express reports Alpina will debut its enhanced version of the new G21-generation 3 Series Touring, the B3 Touring, at next month’s Frankfurt motor show following a teaser image (above) published this week. The regular 3 Series Touring debuted only a few months ago in June.

The new Alpina B3 sedan has been spotted testing and should also be revealed shortly.

The B3 Touring, like its three-box counterpart, won’t quite have M3 levels of thrust but it will be the most powerful 3 Series Touring variant. It’ll use an enhanced version of the M340i’s 3.0-litre turbocharged straight six. In the M340i xDrive, that engine produces 275kW and 500Nm and hits 100km/h in 4.4 seconds.

The previous B3 produced 301kW and 600Nm so expect the new generation to exceed those outputs. Alpina used two turbochargers (instead of one) and a revised exhaust system to obtain more power from the old 'N55' straight-six. The B3 S had even more grunt, Alpina squeezing out 324kW and 660Nm from the silky six.

Naturally, there’ll be other improvements under the new B3’s skin. Typical Alpina upgrades include larger brakes, stiffer springs and uprated dampers, the tuning firm typically aiming for enhanced handling ability but not at the expense of ride quality.

The new B3 should be available in both rear-wheel-drive and all-wheel-drive variants, depending on the market like the M340i on which it’s based. The previous-generation B3 was also available in both drive layouts although we only got the rear-wheel-drive model here in Australia.

Alpina’s aesthetic enhancements tend to be relatively subtle but for their trademark multi-spoke alloy wheels. Expect some subtly restyled bumpers and larger exhaust outlets.

 

Australia

There’s no word yet on whether the new Alpina B3 Touring will land in Australia. The previous (F31) series was introduced here in 2016 and only recently discontinued. The new generation is expected to reach European showrooms in 2020 alongside the sedan variant.

Currently, Alpina fields the B4 S, XD3 and B5, based on the 4 Series, X3 and 5 Series respectively. An updated B7 – based on the revised 7-Series – is due to launch soon.

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