Alpina Z8 top gear

[golde30]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wBFEWJSu5s

this video made me LMAO. sorry if its a repost.

[Mike325]

Lol

[CarsSuck]

I love that it was as fast as the lambo.

[Jordan325iC]

It's so beatiful and it has such a great engine. I've never driven one, but I just can't belive it's near as shitty as Clarkson describes it. Plus, the track time with a shitty alpina automatic is still as quick as cars they don't talk shit on.

[ldsbeaker]

^^ + eleventy

[Erick]

It is as bad as he mentions though. Many complained about the suspension geometry and whatnot. That car was simply a failure at a sports car.

If someone here was to drive it, they'd be impressed. Then again, most people here are only used to their e30s... there's a whole new world out there with better handling cars.

Now, put someone with a Z8 and another handful of competitors and have a go at it with all of them for a day.... you'll see why the Z8 falls short.

[Axxe]

Well, by all accounts, E30's are good handling cars, just not the fastest. They are very rewarding to drive at and beyond the limit, but most people that praise them have never come close to it (the limit). Most peeps get scared shit less to approach limits, and I just love the sound of me crossing them ;)

[whakiewes]

I have driven both, an original Z8 and the Alpina. I enjoyed the original Z8 quite a bit, although it wasn't on a track. It had the wonderful feel of the 4.9L M5 engine and gearbox, slightly better performance, and what I felt were good looks. It did feel like it would be a tad twitchy at the limit for what I drove. It did have very heavy steering as Clarkson described, but it didn't feel connected. That was probably the most dissapointing part of the entire car. When I got out of it, I told the owner (who was trading the car in) that it felt as if BMW wanted to use all the leftover parts from the Z3 and M5, put them together, and the Z8 emerged. The handling felt exactly like a Z3, the chassis felt just like an M5.

The Alpina was a complete dissapointment as Clarkson stated. Probably in the top 10 worst cars I have ever driven, right below the E60 M5. I like cars that are direct, meaningful, and basic. I love STi's, my past E30 M3, etc... The Alpina Z8 was the complete opposite. It was not direct, it had no feeling of a place as Clarkson put, and worst of all it was significantly slower than the previous Z8 I drove. The Alpine spokesperson said they redesigned the engine from a 4.4L M62, bored/stroked it to 4.8L, all in an effort to give it more 'useable' power. I don't know how many have driven an M5, but I don't know where there ISN'T usable power. The original Z8 was the same. You could stab the throttle from 1500rpms to 7000rpms and always was power. Not as linear as our current RS4, but damn close. To me, because of the automatic (which I will say it was a good automatic, but probably built by Mercedes engineers), it felt more lothargic. It had no go from below 3000rpms. The automatic gave it all but a fun feeling, and it definantly left me desiring more.

Maybe it was because I got out of my 968 before both drives. I was in a car that was as connected to the road as any car since 1991. If I turn, the car turns. If I throw the car sideways, its going to send all the feedback straight through the steering wheel. The Z8 had none of this...and all that it did have going for it Alpina took away. I would love to drive one of the twin-turbo or supercharged Z8's, but in its standard form its a sheep in its original sheeps clothing. MZ3 is more entertaining.

Wes