BMW Alpina B5 vs BMW M240I

What's the difference?

The BMW Alpina B5 Bi-Turbo is not actually a BMW. Not according to the German Federal Motor Transport Authority, at least.

Nope, the modifications applied by tuning house Alpina to the 5 Series are deemed so significant that if you open the bonnet and look inside the engine bay, you'll see that the BMW VIN has been struck through twice and an Alpina vehicle number stamped underneath it. 

The B5 is not the first model to be recognised in this way, either; the German government has recognised Alpina as a seperate car manufacturer since 1983.

The B5 has other ‘B' siblings, too. There's the B3 S Bi-Turbo, which is based on the BMW 3 Series, the B4 S Bi-Turbo (the BMW 4 Series) and the B7 Bi-Turbo (I don't need to tell you what this is based on, right?) which I've reviewed, too.

So just what has Alpina done to this unsuspecting BMW 5 Series? Is it really worth the extra money? How does the B5 compare to an M5? Could it actually be superior? And did they really take the speed limiter off to let it warp-speed to beyond 300km/h?

If there ever was a modern BMW that captured the essence of the classic 1602-2002 and pre-Bangle-era 3 Series, it's the 2 Series coupe.

From the lowly 118d diesel to the sublime M2, this model line is the reincarnation of everything that the old 'The Ultimate Driving Machine' company tagline stood for.

Now there's a third-generation 2 Series (if you also count the crisp E82 1 Series of 2007), and right now the M240i is giving off the sort of exciting vibes you might have felt as a teenager looking at a bedroom poster of a 2002ti or 323i.

Does the G42 2 Series deserve to sit alongside such esteemed ancestry? Let's take a deep dive into this most intriguing of BMWs to find out.