tommallett

To many, the idea of a 6.15 am flight to Munich followed by an 850 mile trek back to England might not sound like much fun. These reservations might be compounded by the thought of a 2am alarm call and the news that this must be done in one day, specifically the 23rd December. To be honest, I had moments of doubt. 850 miles is a reasonable day’s drive, however, having been awake for 10 hours prior to the journey it takes the form of a marathon. To make this journey possible the car was going to have to be nigh-on perfect.

The raw statistics suggest that the new Alpina D5 Bi-turbo should be the ideal car for the journey. It has 350 bhp and 700 nm, all from an economical 3.0 litre six cylinder diesel engine. More subjectively it has a chassis that is more comfort oriented than its Bavarian cousin. Mile munching should be something the D5 positively revels in.

The Alpina brand manager, Matt Stripling, gave me a lift to Gatwick airport in his newly liveried Alpina D3 saloon. We made decent time, and a pre-printed boarding pass allowed a swift passage through customs, quick enough for a heart stopping McDonald’s breakfast. Unsurprisingly, the ensuing plane ride was used for a mixture of sleep and digestion.

We had been concerned about the weather in Germany. Quite often, at this time of year, Germany is covered in snow, and the low temperatures make summer rubber virtually useless. So, despite my early start and bleary eyes I was pleased to discover that, a little bit of dampness aside, the ambient temperature was a relatively balmy 10 degrees centigrade and the only signs of precipitation being a few rain clouds.

Waiting at Munich International Airport was Oliver Saboy, one of Alpina’s engineers. Oliver grew up in Buchloe and he had great enthusiasm for Alpina, having had two stints with the company. As is often the case in Germany, we made good time on the journey to Buchloe and I was able to
have my first peek of the D5.

Most of the factory had shut down for the Christmas period, so we went through to the sales department while Andy Bovensiepen carried out a final sign off drive in our D5. The next couple of hours proved to be not only informative, but also very pleasant. Gunther Schuster, who I have met before, talked me though Alpina’s success in Japan and a few moments were used to bemoan the current economic situation, although Germany seems to be unaffected to the naked eye.

Having approved the D5 Andy took over. An Alpina calendar and their Grosse Weine selection were handed over and it would have seemed churlish to turn them down, despite the forthcoming January detox (Alpina is one of Europe’s largest wine importers). Andy couldn’t help but let some enthusiasm for his new car spill over, and took me through the details of the two full days it takes to craft each car, that, and his insatiable love of motorsport made the next 45 minutes fly by.

Finally, I got into the driver’s seat. Alpina has always been keen to run cars in, so this journey would be the perfect opportunity to bed the gearbox and engine. The first 100 miles had already been covered by Andy and his engineers, so some of the work had already been done. I was to cover the next 300 km using the first 2500 rpm and increasing the engines workload slowly after that. However, I was allowed to stretch the powerful diesel’s legs as the trip progressed and take full advantage of Germany’s famous Autobahn network.

After a ride through the town of Buchloe I joined the A96 and made my way towards Memmingham. The engine initially feels very strong, especially linked to BMW’s excellent 8 speed automatic gearbox. The first thing that strikes you on the Autobahn is how small of a handicap the self-imposed 2500 rpm limit is. Maximum torque is produced between 1500 and 3000 rpm, with 2500 rpm in eighth gear translating to 110 mph and an indicated 33 mpg. To my mind, despite sharing the same DNA as the B5, the diesel feels sharper than its heavier brother, the 55kg saving having clear benefits on turn in.