Bovensiepen 05 GT driven: 790bhp successor to the Alpina B5

Meanwhile the twin-turbo 4.4-litre petrol V8 gets new intake plumbing and a titanium Akrapovic exhaust from the silencer back. It alone is responsible for the 05 GT’s 72bhp uplift over the regular M5’s output. Flybys at the Salzburgring racetrack, where we drove the 05 GT, were riotous events reminiscent of low-flying jet aircraft.

Elsewhere, the M5’s M Adaptive dampers have been retuned and the 05 GT is fitted with its own bespoke Eibach springs, as well as new strut-tower braces. The staggered wheel set-up of the regular M5 is also dispensed with and 21in alloys (with milled spokes) are fitted all round. Model-specific ‘BOV’-marked P Zero R tyres, bespoke from Pirelli, complete the package with an M5-matching contact patch.

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Bovensiepen doesn’t tinker with the tuning of the steering or the rear-steering, or the four-wheel drive system, which behaves as per the regular M5, with its myriad of modes and traction control settings.

What it has tinkered with, and tinkered well, is the styling. This is the work of Frank Stephenson’s studio and it offers a wholesale revision of the standard car’s porcine thuggery. A black pin-stripe down the flanks – along with the concave sills intended to reduce visual weight – is bookended by subtly sporting bumpers and neat roof spoiler. It will take a while for a bumper script that reads ‘Bovensiepen’ rather than ‘Alpina’ to feel normal, but this is a smart styling effort that strikes the right tone on a challenging canvas.