Alpina BMW B6 Cabriolet (2006)

Alpina present the B6 Cabrio, combining performance and luxury with a high degree of everyday usability: 500 horsepower, 700 Nm – absurd in an open-topped sports car? Far from it. The V8’s beguiling sound and opulent torque entice the driver to glide along in a relaxed fashion. Leather, wood and matchless ergonomics caress the inhabitants, immediately creating a sense of comfort and well-being.

The acceleration suggests a super-sports car: 100 kph from a standing start is reached in 4.9 seconds, with speeds in excess of 300kph less than a minute away – the only short interruptions undertaken by the 6-speed ZF automatic’s smooth upshifts. This noble Gran Tourismo is just as good at communicating the sound of its sonorous V8 directly into the cockpit, whether top down, or with just the rear windscreen lowered

Driving a Alpina is an adventure in intense comfort, yet we don’t define comfort as the absence of any feedback through the chassis, as many would have it. Comfort defines itself to us in a completely different manner. The steering needs to be exact, but light on its feet at the same time. The seats need to be firm, with good lateral support. Dampers and springs must nip languid suspension swells in the bud. The tyres will accept great cornering, braking and acceleration forces, without sidewalls that are too stiff and without being too heavy in general. For these reasons, we at Alpina simply don’t like Run-Flat tyres

The staggered tyres, as always from Michelin, are generously dimensioned: 255/35 ZR20 front and 285/30 ZR20 rear, and mounted on large 20″ Alpina Dtnamic wheels. In spite of the low aspect ratios, a special tyre configuration makes them capable of high levels of comfort, this coupled with handling that turns every long drive into a joy ride.

Light retouching of the Cabrio’s front and rear lend a sense of sophistication. Harmoniously integrated into the rear diffuser, the four exhaust pipes are at once elegant and powerful.