Alpina B3 GT3 2011-2013 review

Despite all that track kit, Bovensiepen’s aim with the B3 GT3 was actually to make it civilized — much more so than the M3 GTS he took issue with. The GT3 is still an Alpina, after all, and this is a firm that has built its reputation on fast BMWs that are that little bit easier to live with than their official M division equivalents. 

That’s why, in your first few miles in the GT3, you’ll probably find it a strangely unintimidating car; easy on the ear in terms of road noise and exhaust boom, and with an unexpectedly supple ride. This may be Alpina’s first road car to produce aerodynamic downforce, but it’s still one you could drive to the office every morning.

In an ideal world, though, the B3 GT3 owner’s ‘office’ would be about three miles long, thirty feet wide, made of Tarmac, undulating in places and circular. Because you can’t help feeling that this car’s talents are wasted on the road. You just can’t drive it hard and fast enough on the public highway to get anywhere near the full potential of its chassis, marvel that it is, although you can have a whale of a time trying. This is a proper track thoroughbred; it also just happens to know not to turn out on the kitchen floor.

I’ve never been the biggest fan of the current M3. I like it – most of the time – but I don’t like the complication you have to wrestle with to find the optimum combination of electronic damper, gearbox and differential setting. And I don’t like how hard it makes you work for your fun. The B3 GT3 could have been created as the perfect answer to all that. It’s an unconditional, old-school kind of driver’s car with a warts-and-all sense of honesty about it.

The hydraulic steering is heavy; it's no more direct than the rack on a 335i, but it's wonderful to use because of its feedback and positivity. In ‘road’ mode, the suspension delivers superb wheel control and a smooth, taut, cushioned ride over all but the worst broken surfaces. Incredible balance and agility, too, and an abiding promise that, no matter how much speed you unleash from the turbocharged powerplant, you’ll always find the grip and composure you need to contain it.

Turn-in is a little reluctant. The effect of a mechanical diff is always to promote stability at the straight-ahead, unless it’s a clever electronically controlled one. But once you’ve got the B3 GT3 committed to a corner, it’s a sublime machine to drive through and beyond the apex. Ladle on as much torque as you like – and there’s a generous swell of it once the big turbo has taken a split second to wake up.

A trustworthy front end and a neutral attitude is assured, which you can develop into a wonderful meeting of traction and throttle-steer as more and more boost arrives.