Alpina took everyone by surprise when they unveiled their first SUV ever. It was based on the F25 X3 model and it had a unique name: XD3 Biturbo. It was an even more surprising choice since it was the first ever Alpina car to use a diesel engine under the hood. Time has definitely passed and the German tuner/manufacturer is now making its second-generation XD3 based on the G01 X3, with even better looks.
Today we’re taking a walk down memory lane, and checking out the original XD3. The guys from AutoTopNL took one for a spin and decided to test its acceleration times, as claimed by Alpina. That’s basically their trademark and the reason why so many people check out their work. The XD3 was built based on the xDrive35d model. That means it uses a revamped version of the 3-liter straight six diesel engine found on the F25 X3, making 313 HP in standard guise.
After Alpina was done with that bi-turbo engine, it was capable of delivering 350 HP and 700 Nm (516 lb-ft) of torque. With this newfound power, the 0-100 km/h (62 mph) sprint would take 4.9 seconds while the top speed would go as high as 253 km/h (157 mph). Those numbers get put to the test, in the video below. In the benchmark acceleration test, the app the guys used show a time of 4.96 seconds which is pretty close, considering the car has almost 50,000 km on the odometer.
The second run shows a time of 5.01 seconds. It also shows a 1/4 mile run of 13.24 seconds, both figures being more than decent for a diesel X3 that’s about 5 years old. If that doesn’t tickle your fancy, Alpina has a new model on sale today, based on the G01. It has a similar 3-liter diesel engine but it’s the B57 unit, tuned to make 388 HP and 770 Nm of torque and will do 0-62 mph in 4.6 seconds.
