The FIA GT3 European Championship is fast shaping up to be one of the most prestigious racing series on the FIA calendar. Recently the championship has attracted German tuner Alpina out of a 20 year racing hiatus. Alpina enters the FIA GT3 with its B6 GT3 racer which will compete with cars from manufacturers like Ferrari, Porsche and Aston Martin.

The Alpina B6 GT3 is a race car based on the current BMW 6 Series. The good news is that it is also available for sale to the public. What these lucky people would be getting is a light-footed sports racer with a low centre of gravity. It runs on 18-inch Michelin wheels and weighs 1,350kg (2,976 lbs). It's fitted with a 4.4-litre V8 engine that is force-fed by a supercharger in order to discharge 530PS (390kW) and 725Nm of torque. A 6-speed sequential gearbox is included. The Alpina GT3 is capable of blasting from 0 - 100km/h in just 3.9 seconds and has recorded a top speed of 285km/h at the Nordschleife.

Alpina is currently in negotiations with several personalities in motorsport in order to fill up the four driving seats available in its team. Customer teams will also be able to race the car in places like Belgium and Germany and other long-distance races. Before it takes to famous race tracks the public will be able to view it at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show in March where it will be debut next to the all-new Alpina B7.

 

I think it's safe to say that nobody will be calling this car gorgeous. I'm surprised they didn't use the V10 that comes in the M6. Is it against the rules in FIA GT3 to run anything with more than 8 cylinders?

 

gorgeous... this car is gorgeous. Not even joking... love it!

strange about v8... could be a weight reliability issue.