Alpina introduces D3 twin turbo diesel coupe, 43.6 mpg (US)

In Germany there is a long history of small aftermarket companies that specialize in taking production vehicles from one of the big German automakers and transforming it into something special. That something special usually amounts to taking cars that already have a healthy amount of power and making it an insane amount along with some body modifications and suspension upgrades. AMG (now owned by Mercedes) and Brabus specialize in tuning cars from Stuttgart while Alpina's focus is on BMWs. Alpina's latest effort is based on the 3-Series coupe with propulsion coming from a version of the 2.0L dual turbo diesel in the 123d. The D3 Bi-Turbo gets only a slight bump in power from 204 to 214 hp. Torque however swells from 295 lb-ft to 332 lb-ft. That's good enough for a sub 7 second 0-60 run while still getting a combined 43.6 mpg (US) with CO2 emissions of 143 g/km (all with the manual transmission). Attractive new wheels and lower air dam give the D3 a distinctive appearance from a run of the mill 3-Series as well.

[Source: Alpina]