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Alpina Edition 50 models boast 204-mph top speed, company's most-powerful V8 ever

The folks at Alpina bridge the gap between a full factory outfit and traditional tuners. It currently only builds around 1,700 cars a year, but you're not going to find any massive rear wings or garish paint from the company. Instead, the business has been perfecting how to make BMWs better for the last 50 years and has decided to celebrate with its most powerful road model yet. For the Edition 50 models, Alpina is crafting 50 sedans or wagons and 50 coupes for European buyers based around its B5 Bi-Turbo and the B6 Bi-Turbo, respectively. The real birthday present is the upgraded, twin-turbocharged 4.4-liter V8 under the hood. It makes 591 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque, a bump of 59 hp and 52 lb-ft from the regular versions. The extra grunt comes thanks to additions like an optimized intake, water-cooled intercoolers near the turbos, lightweight pistons and a titanium exhaust. Alpina claims that these celebratory vehicles can get to 62 miles per hour in 4.2 seconds and a top speed of 204 miles per hour. Beyond just the major improvement in power, these special vehicles wear Alpina's more aggressive, though still understated body kit. They also ride on an updated version of the company's famous wheels that feature added side cuts on the multiple spokes to reduce weight. These exclusive cars are only available in Alpina's own shades of green and blue, plus a special color called Edition 50 Sepia from BMW Individual. There are also special logos on the seatbacks and center console to further promote the models' limited nature. Celebrating the brand's birthday in one of these high-speed vehicles retails for 86,850 pounds ($130,000) for buyers in the UK. NEW 204 MPH SUPERSALOON CELEBRATES 50 YEARS OF ALPINA ENGINEERING EXCELLENCE 26/03/15 Extensively revised V8 is the most powerful roadcar engine in the company's history Nottingham - Bespoke car manufacturer ALPINA will create 50 remarkable saloons (or estates) and 50 similar coupes to celebrate the company's half century this year. Based on the B5 Bi-Turbo and the B6 Bi-Turbo respectively, each vehicle will include hand-crafted Edition 50 body and trim features and a remarkable, heavily revised V8 that will propel the luxury five seater from 0-100 km/h (62 mph) in 4.2 seconds and on to a top speed of 204 mph. ALPINA's fifty year heritage includes the creation of some of Europe's most highly-regarded luxury performance road cars and iconic race cars including the legendary BMW 3.0 CSL.

BMW will show Mini EV concept at Frankfurt

A month ago, BMW announced that it would electrify all its brands and model lines, including the Mini hatchback. A forthcoming full-electric Mini will enter production in 2019 at the Mini plant in Oxford, England, where the production line would join a German-built electric drivetrain with a British-built body. BMW notes that this will happen exactly 60 years after the original Mini hit the streets. View 5 Photos As the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show is upon us, BMW has introduced the concept version of the aforementioned electric Mini. The manufacturer says the color scheme chosen for the concept matches the previous electrified Mini, the experimental Mini E of 2008. That car was produced in a trial run of 600 units, and it provided BMW with valuable data as it was developing the i3 model, currently on the market. The Mini Electric Concept is powered by a lithium-ion battery, but no numerical specifications or range figures have been announced. It will be interesting to see whether the driving fun inherent to Minis can be translated, as a battery electric vehicle will undoubtedly be heavier than a fossil-fuel hatchback. The closed front grille stands as testament for doing without pistons or a need for engine cooling. Related Video: Related Gallery MINI Electric Concept Image Credit: BMW Green Frankfurt Motor Show BMW MINI Technology Emerging Technologies Hatchback Concept Cars Electric Frankfurt 2017

A BMW i3 will cost you $100,000 in Brazil

Brazil is a long way from the US, and the price of the BMW i3 in that South American country is even further away from what Americans pay for the same electric vehicle. But that hasn't stopped a few wealthy Brazilians from taking the plunge. The BMW i3 REx – i.e., the one with the gas-powered range-extender – is the first mass-produced vehicle of its kind to be imported to Brazil (there are a few Nissan Leaf vehicles in fleet use), and those intrepid buyers are forking over about $100,000 to own the vehicle, according to Just-Auto. The country's first 100 i3's were recently received in Sao Paolo, and about 30 of them have been sold. That pricetag is a wee bit higher than in the US, where the i3 starts under $42,000. BMW did open a $261-million factory in Brazil this year, but the i3 continues to be produced exclusively in Germany. It's not just fancy new plug-in cars and World Cup tickets that cost a lot in Brazil. The Volkswagen Golf, which retails for less than $18,000 in the States, costs about $23,000 in Brazil and the Economist ran a series of articles last year explaining how currency changes have resulted in the dollar-to-Brazilian real exchange rate surging in recent years.