Porsche 911 vs BMW Alpina B4
What's the difference?

Porsche 911

$299,990 - $548,888

2025 price

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BMW Alpina B4

—

2018 price

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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

Rolls-Royce Spectre (bev)

Toyota Land Cruiser

Toyota Supra

Toyota Tundra

Summary

2025 Porsche 911

2018 BMW Alpina B4

By Andrew Chesterton

By Peter Anderson

Safety Rating

Engine Type

Flat Twin Turbo 6, 3.6L

Turbo 6, 3.0L

Fuel Type

Premium Unleaded/Electric

Premium Unleaded Petrol

Fuel Efficiency

11.0L/100km (combined)

7.6L/100km (combined)

Seating

Likes

Incredible acceleration and agility
Hybrid tech never intrusive nor obvious
Digitalised cabin experience a plus

Ride and handling
Brilliant engine
Distinctive

Dislikes

Potent power and can feel less enthralling than ICE
Supercar-level pricing is getting out of control
Road noise slightly impacts daily drivability

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

2025 Porsche 911 Summary

The icon is electric. Well, kind of.

This is the new Porsche 911 Carrera GTS, which ushers in a facelift for the brand’s most famous model — and it’s one that introduces a pretty major change.

That faint whistling you hear is most likely the distant wails of the Porsche purists, because this new 911 is now a hybrid.

Yes, the Carrera GTS features Porsche’s clever T-Hybrid engine, which is the brand’s take on electrifying the world’s most famous sports car.

It’s faster than the model it replaces, but it also fundamentally alters the formula that has made the 911 the world’s most iconic sports car.

The question is, does it alter it for the better?

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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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Deep dive comparison

2025 Porsche 911 2018 BMW Alpina B4

Verdict

The more things change, the more they stay the same. The t-hybrid might be an entirely new propulsion system for the 911, but the net result is unchanged – power, poise and performance on tap.

Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with travel, accommodation and meals provided.

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.

Porsche 911 vs BMW Alpina B4 What's the difference?

Summary

Deep dive comparison

Verdict

Verdict

Porsche 911 vs BMW Alpina B4
What's the difference?