BMW Alpina B4 vs Audi RS5
What's the difference?

BMW Alpina B4

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2018 price

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Audi RS5

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2021 price

View pricing & specs

Aston Martin Vanquish

Lamborghini Aventador

Mercedes-Benz C-Class

Mercedes-Benz C43

Mercedes-Benz C63

Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class

Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class

Mercedes-Benz E-Class

Mercedes-Benz S-Class

Mercedes-Benz S450

Mercedes-Benz SL-Class

Summary

2018 BMW Alpina B4

2021 Audi RS5

By Peter Anderson

By Andrew Chesterton

Safety Rating

Engine Type

Turbo 6, 3.0L

Twin Turbo V6, 2.9L

Fuel Type

Premium Unleaded Petrol

Fuel Efficiency

7.6L/100km (combined)

9.4L/100km (combined)

Seating

Likes

Ride and handling
Brilliant engine
Distinctive

Potent engine
Supermodel looks
Premium and polished interior

Dislikes

The price
No Apple CarPlay/Android Auto
Some dodgy styling features

Tight rear seat in Coupe
Gearbox can feel fidgety at speed

2018 BMW Alpina B4 Summary

If you're looking for a sleek, two-door coupe with a sparkling chassis, rear-wheel drive and a charismatic turbo straight-six, BMW has you covered with about eight choices. That should be that, then. But wait. There's more.

Since 1965, Alpina - the name of a resurrected a typewriter company - has collaborated closely with BMW to produce distinct, high performance Alpina-badged cars. It actually started with a Weber dual-carburettor unofficial conversion for the BMW 1500 in 1962 and over the years built into a racing operation winning championships and races like the Spa 24 Hours.

Alpina returned to Australian shores in 2017 after a long hiatus with a new range including the BMW 4 Series based B4. Not long after, BMW updated the 4 in what it calls LCI (Lifecycle Impulse), so Alpina followed suit with a price drop, new gear and called it the B4 S.

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2021 Audi RS5 Summary

Audi's A5 Coupe and Sportback have always been good looking cars. Yes, yes, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and all that, but seriously, just look at one and tell me it's not handsome.

Happily, the just-updated RS5 doesn't just build on the looks of its more sedate sibling, but on the performance, too, adding near-supercar speed to those supermodel looks.

Sounds like a pretty good match, right? Let's find out, shall we?

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Deep dive comparison

2018 BMW Alpina B4 2021 Audi RS5

Verdict

You could almost call the B4 S the anti-M4. It's still fast and practical but from a completely different perspective. It's much more a grand tourer than the M4 and even with the Akrapovic exhaust (usually a byword for joyous, anti-social racket), subtle.

For some, the price won't matter because the Alpina delivers what they want - M4-like straight line performance without the histrionics or the uncompromising chassis. And there's also a bit of that perverse exclusivity of the styling that you won't get anywhere else.

Verdict

Good looking, good to drive, and good to simply sit in, the Audi RS5 range ticks plenty of premium boxes. Whether you can live with the practicality pitfalls of the Coupe is up to you, but if you can't, might I suggest taking a wander over to our RS4 Avant review?

BMW Alpina B4 vs Audi RS5 What's the difference?

Summary

Deep dive comparison

Verdict

Verdict

BMW Alpina B4 vs Audi RS5
What's the difference?