10 Underrated Fast BMWs That Are Not M Cars

BMW, one of the world’s most famous carmakers build some of the most breathtaking sports cars the world ever saw. Sure, they had their hiccups here and there – not pointing any fingers at the i3 of course – but they are responsible for countless German engines every gearhead should know about like the tuner-friendly B58 straight-six and the sweet-sounding S85 V10 engine. That said, these exuberant engines of theirs typically only show face in hardcore sports cars like the M3, M4, and M5.

And as technology evolves, carmakers like BMW can extract even more power out of their overengineered engines, and this includes non-M cars. Technology has come so far in fact, that other brands might create fully-electric counterparts to their current model lineup… maybe we’ll even see an electric Mazda MX-5 Miata? But we digress. From ridiculously quick electric SUVs to hybrid supercars, these are the most underrated BMW performance cars that are not M cars.

With performance- and engine specs gathered from Zero To 60 Times and CarEdge, we’ve highlighted some of the fastest underappreciated BMWs that do not wear the M badge.

10 2013 BMW 135is

0-60 MPH Time: 4.5 seconds

Based on the E82 1 Series, the BMW 135is is the hottest 1 Series ever built that didn’t wear an M badge. Sure, on the outside, this 135is looks like any old E82 1 Series, but underneath its hood lived a 3.0-liter turbocharged straight-six engine called the N55 which exclaimed 320 hp and 317 lb-ft of torque to the rear wheels.

As a result, the 135is clocks in a 0-60 mph time of only 4.5 seconds, making it one of the cheapest sports cars that can accelerate from 0-60 mph in under 6 seconds. Luckily, these cars still somewhat slept on, but your window of opportunity to buy one is getting smaller by the second.

Performance

Related: 5 Best BMWs To Buy Used (5 Audis To Buy Instead)

9 2016 BMW 550i xDrive

0-60 MPH Time: 3.9 seconds

Back in the day, many referred to the F10-generation BMW 550i as the baby M5. That’s because the 550i featured a turbocharged 4.4-liter V8 that put down 443 hp and 479 lb-ft of torque. For an average-looking BMW, that was more than enough.

When coupled with BMW’s all-wheel-drive system, xDrive, the 550i could reach 60 mph from a dig in only 3.9 seconds. On top of that, this engine in particular is one of the very best BMW ever made, resulting in an 88/100 Quality & Reliability score from J.D. Power. In turn, this makes the 2016 BMW 550i one of the very few virtually indestructible luxury cars.

Performance

Related: 5 Car Brands Whose Engines We Trust (5 We Don’t)

8 2011 BMW Z4 sDrive35is

0-60 MPH Time: 4.3 seconds

Sure, we all know the new BMW Z40i is a proper sports car with a potent powertrain, but did you know BMW’s second-generation Z4 also had a surprisingly punchy model called the Z4 sDrive35is? So, let’s break down what that name means exactly.

sDrive means that it’s rear-wheel-drive and that 35is badge means it has a twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-six hiding beneath its hood. In the real world, this means that the tiny E89-generation Z4 has 335 hp and 369 lb-ft of torque at its fingertips and can accomplish 0-60 mph in only 4.3 seconds. And just like the aforementioned 135is, these Z4s are surprisingly cheap since very few people are buying these used sports cars.

Performance

7 2001 BMW Z8

0-60 MPH Time: 4.2 seconds

Just as the 21st century arrived, BMW felt awfully creative (even more than now) and build some truly out-of-the-box sports cars. Take the Z8 for example. It completely broke BMW’s traditional styling language, and there was never a successor to it. Out of a list of classic cars that deserve a reboot, the Z8 is pretty high on our priority list.

Even the powertrain used in the BMW Z8 was unconventional. Sourced from the E39 BMW M5, the Z8 featured a naturally aspirated 4.9-liter V8 engine that pumped out 394 hp and 369 lb-ft of torque. As a result, the Z8 went from 0-60 mph in only 4.2 seconds.

Performance

6 2014 BMW Alpina B3 Touring

0-60 MPH Time: 4.1 seconds

Here we have our first Alpina car, the B3 Touring based on the F30-generation 3 Series. Alpina is essentially what Brabus is to Mercedes-Benz, only better. See, Alpina cranks every attribute of a BMW to the max: performance, luxury, and style.

Therefore, the Alpina B3 Touring had a twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter straight-six that produced 404 hp and 442 lb-ft of torque. Also, Alpina removes their models’ electronic top speed limiters, so the B3 Touring had a top speed of 188 mph.

Performance

5 2022 BMW iX xDrive50

0-60 MPH Time: 4.0 seconds

Sure, the BMW iX has some questionable design choices, but the unbelievable performance figures thereof speak for themselves. We mean, this 5,959-lb electric SUV reaches highway speeds in 4 seconds flat.

How? Well, you can thank BMW’s innovative engineers who slapped two electric motors underneath that generate 516 hp and 564 lb-ft of torque. That’s enough to almost forgive them for creating such a heinous being.

Performance

Related: 10 Amazing Sleepers With More Than 500 Horsepower Under The Hood

4 2015 BMW i8

0-60 MPH Time: 3.7 seconds

Don’t get us wrong, we love the BMW i8, but we really crossed our fingers that it would have more impressive performance figures. Although the i8 looks like an exotic supercar, the i8 only had a total of 357 hp and 420 lb-ft of torque combined between its 1.5-liter three-cylinder engine and three electric motors.

A 3.7-second 0-60 mph is respectable, but for a car as extravagantly designed as the i8… it just left us wanting more. Still, it remains one of the fastest non-M cars BMW ever made, though.

Performance

3 2017 BMW Alpina B6 xDrive Gran Coupe

0-60 MPH Time: 3.7 seconds

Remember that 550i we spoke of earlier? Well, the Alpina B6, based on the F12 6 Series shares the same engine as it, only this time Alpina did their magic to the 4.4-liter V8. After some tinkering, Alpina squeezed 600 hp and 590 lb-ft of torque out of the 4.4-liter V8, and of course, removed the top speed limiter as well as added some other goodies.

As a whole, the stunning four-door Alpina B6 fitted with xDrive can go beyond 200 mph and reach 60 mph from a stop in only 3.3 seconds. That’s BMW M5 territory.

Performance

2 2020 BMW Alpina B7 xDrive

0-60 MPH Time: 3.2 seconds

Despite weighing more, the Alpina B7 is even faster and even quicker than the aforementioned B6. With a slightly different tune, the same 600-hp V8 rocketed the all-wheel-drive Alpina B7, based on the G12 7 Series, to 60 mph in just 3.2 seconds.

But even more impressive is the fact with all this added luxury and weight, the Alpina B7 xDrive has a top speed of 205 mph. If this isn’t one of the best sleeper cars that will leave supercars in the dust, we don’t know what is.

Performance

1 2022 BMW Alpina B8 Gran Coupe

0-60 MPH Time: 3.1 seconds

The fastest car BMW ever built, that wasn’t an M car is the Alpina B8 Gran Coupe. Based on the G15 8 Series, the Alpina B8 is the biggest and baddest offering from Alpina. It houses the very same German V8 engine that can compete against any Hellcat V8, the 4.4-liter N63 V8, but as you may guess, it’s got some more punching power.

In total, the Alpina B8 Gran Coupe has 612 hp and 509 lb-ft of torque that’s put down to all four wheels. And despite it weighing even morethan the Alpina B7, it achieves a quicker 0-60 mph time of just 3.1 seconds and has a top speed of 201 mph.

Performance

0-60 MPH	3.1 seconds
Top Speed	201 mph
Curb Weight	4,630 lbs
Horsepower	612 hp
Torque	509 lb-ft
Layout	front-engine, all-wheel-drive