Alpina present the new B5 at the Geneva Salon, an automobile with 500 horsepower, maximum torque of 700 Newton metres and a top speed of 314km/h - the fastest production saloon in the world. Yet power isn't the sole defining characteristic of this 3 series, more the manner in which this performance unfolds. In this regard, the youngest member of the Alpina family takes a leading position in its class. In principle, the B5 uses the same powerplant found in the familiar Alpina B7, with its 4.4 liter V8. The engine's forced induction differs from conventional solutions: it is neither turbo, nor of the type of super-chargers that drain a great deal of power from an engine. Instead, a radial or 'Nautilus-type' compressor delivers the boost pressure: one might see it as a combination of super-charger and turbo-charger.
