567 bhp Sportec Panamera

The Porsche Panamera Turbo seems to be getting a lot of attention from tuners. Swiss firm Sportec is one of those, and the good news for UK customers is that its products are available through APS of Brackley, the UK importer.

There are two packages on offer for the Panamera Turbo. Stage 1 basically consists of an engine ECU remap, which lifts power from the standard car’s 493 bhp (368 kW / 500 PS) up to 552 bhp (412 kW / 560 PS). Maximum torque is similarly increased from 700 Nm to 790 Nm.



Although there isn’t a huge effect on the 0-62 mph (100 km/h) time, which reduces from 4.2 to 3.9 seconds, Sportec claims that the mid-range is where the impact is really felt. Top speed is also improved, rising to an electronically limited 195 mph (315 km/h).



The price of the Stage 1 package is £2,900 fitted, which equates to about £50 per extra horsepower.



Stage 2 meanwhile also gets the revised ECU, but adds Sportec’s stainless exhaust system. This comes with four 90mm diameter tail pipes, plus a pair of ‘sound throttles’ which allow the driver to change the exhaust note via remote control.



Although that particular feature is a bit of a gimmick, the new exhaust does release a little more power, taking it up to 567 bhp (423 kW / 575 PS). That’s not quite as much as the Techart Panamera conversion, which boasts 572 bhp (426 kW / 580 PS), but according to Sportec their car will do the 0-62 mph (100 km/h) sprint in a marginally faster time of 3.8 seconds. That is properly quick, but doesn’t seem very different from what Stage 1 achieves. Maximum speed remains limited to 195 mph (315 km/h).



The Stage 2 modification is also a lot more expensive, costing £7,990 fitted. That’s around £110 for each additional horsepower, which doesn’t look like particularly good value when compared to Stage 1.

€310,000 HMC Hidalgo

Little-known Swiss firm Helvetic Motor Company has unveiled its latest creation. Called the Hidalgo (and possibly named after the 2004 film about a horse that featured Omar Sharif?) it uses the running gear from the Mercedes-Benz SLK 55 AMG.

The SLK’s 355 bhp (265 kW / 360 PS) 5,439 cc V8 is reckoned to accelerate the Hidalgo from 0-62 mph (100 km/h) in 3.4 seconds. That’s 1.5 seconds quicker than the AMG, so that obviously Bugatti-inspired body must be quite a bit lighter.

Planned production is only six units per year but, with a price tag of around €310,000 (about £257,000 at today’s rates), even that may be optimistic.

Alpina B5 UK sales start

Following its debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed last month, Alpina’s UK concessionaires have confirmed that the first deliveries of the B5 Bi-Turbo will take place later this year.

The 5 Series-based B5 uses the same 4.4 litre V8 as the mainstream BMW 550i, but retuned turbochargers and a revised inlet set-up mean power is increased by 98 bhp (73 kW / 100 PS) to 500 bhp (372 kW / 507 PS), while maximum torque jumps by 100 Nm to a substantial 700 Nm.



Also like the 550i, and typically Alpina, the B5 has an eight-speed automatic transmission. 0-62 mph (100 km/h) acceleration takes 4.7 seconds, which is 0.3 seconds quicker than the BMW. Unlike the 550i though, the Alpina dispenses with an electronic speed limiter, allowing it to go up to 191 mph (307 km/h).



Combined fuel consumption for the B5 is 26.2 mpg (10.7 l/100km), while CO2 emissions are 252 g/km. By comparison, that’s not too different to the BMW 550i, which manages 27.2 mpg (10.4 l/100km) and 243 g/km.



Another Alpina trait is that ride comfort isn’t totally sacrificed in pursuit of better handling. To help achieve this, the B5’s 20” alloy wheels do without the standard car’s run-flat tyres, and the adjustable electronic dampers have also been specially reconfigured.



Whereas the previous generation BMW M5 had a bespoke V10 engine, it’s said that the next M5 will also use an adapted version of the 4.4 litre V8. That’s going to lead to some very direct comparisons between the BMW and Alpina. It can be assumed that the M5 will be more hardcore in terms of chassis set-up and choice of transmission but, until that car arrives, the B5 is the quickest 5 Series available which retains a full BMW warranty.



No word on price yet, but expect the Alpina B5 Bi-Turbo to cost around £70,000 in the UK. To put that into perspective BMW’s current 5 Series range-topper, the 550i M Sport, is £53,615.