1992 Alpina B10 Bi-Turbo & 1996 Alpina B8 4.6 Sedan - Double Vision

[RockJock]

1992 Alpina B10 Bi-Turbo & 1996 Alpina B8 4.6 Sedan - Double Vision
Because The Only Thing Better Than One Alpina Is Two
By Kevin Hackett
Photography by Craig Pusey




Among the great names in the history of cars-Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche, Bentley and so on-room should be made for Burkhard Bovensiepen. This man is the founder of one of the greatest automobile companies in all Europe.

Unlike AC Schnitzer, Hartge, Dinan, Hamann et al, Alpina isn't a BMW tuner. It's regarded as a manufacturer in its own right; on an owner's documentation there is no mention of BMW. Alpinas, unlike BMWs, are never thought of as vulgar. They're spoken of in reverential tones. Anyone who knows their German cars has nothing but respect for this mysterious brand. There's nothing quite like an Alpina.

Most aftermarket tuners are regarded with varying degrees of disdain by the manufacturers of the original products they mess about with. That they're changing intrinsic parts of a design that took many years and considerable sums to perfect. How could these upstarts possibly improve upon perfection? To a certain extent, they have a point. Liberating more power than the designers allowed for in the first place has resulted in tears, financial ruin and even death for some owners. Although there are one or two exceptions.

Take Mercedes. AMG was so respected by the manufacturer that it ended up buying the company. Brabus enjoys close ties too. In the UK, those cars are sold through official M-B dealerships. It's a similar story with Alpina's relationship with BMW. The two are incredibly close.



Hang around on any Sunday afternoon in Malibu and you'll stop bothering to count Lambos and Ferraris, but the chances of seeing an Alpina amid the throng of ultra-expensive metal are almost zero. Here are two of the best: a B10 Bi-Turbo and a B8 4.6. Under their relatively normal exteriors lies performance that should give supercar owners sleepless nights. This has been the appeal of Alpina. Warp speed in cars you can share with all the family; cars that won't attract unnecessary attention from the boys in blue; cars that don't cost a fortune to repair or service. Quite an easy sell, really. But for all their ample charms, they're still made in tiny numbers. That's the way they like it at the factory in Buchloe, Bavaria. They're rarer than most Italian exotica, and make Astons and Bentleys look positively common. The E36-derived B8 is even more relevant today than it was 13 years ago when it first saw light of day-it's a 3 Series with a V8, predating the new M3 by more than a decade.

With just 221 of these B8s built, they're special even by Alpina standards. This is number 0038. There were other E36 Alpinas, but the B8 is where it's at, delivering truly brilliant performance in an elegant car that makes the current 3 Series look bloated and awkward. The numbers are enough to make anyone salivate: eight cylinders, 4.6 liters, 333 horses and six gears powering just two wheels. At 1000 rpm, the B8 is developing the same amount of torque that an M3 Evo does at full pelt. It'll power on to a maximum speed said to be 175 mph. Those in the know, however, reckon this is typical Teutonic understatement. The V8 transplant was far from straightforward, but as Alpina has such a good relationship with the OEM, BMW was willing to make 42 significant modifications to the body design before delivering panels to Alpina. Most cars have their engines fitted from underneath, but the B8's had to be dropped in. The effort was well worth it.

It wasn't just the bodies that needed significant alteration. The engine was derived from the contemporary 540i, but as that unit has Alusil-coated bores, they couldn't simply overbore the block. New ones had to be cast. Again, something BMW was happy to help with. There were higher-compression Mahle pistons, a new management system and a redesigned exhaust to cope with the extra grunt. A six-speed Getrag 'box was the only available transmission. Externally, there weren't many clues to tell the uninitiated they were looking at a far-from-ordinary Bimmer: some subtle gold stripes, those always-beautiful Alpina spoked alloys and a couple of spoilers-that was about it.

It's pretty much the same story for the almighty B10 Bi-Turbo: discreet, handsome lines and the occasional hint that Alpina had been to work on the E34 535i it's based on. As a previous E34 owner, I can testify that these are some of the best-engineered cars ever built. But for the dated styling, I'd own one now. However, the B10 still looks good enough to tempt me into scanning the classifieds. A few more of these were produced than the B8 (507, to be exact). It's a magnificent piece of kit. The peak 360 hp turned into 181 mph and a zero-to-60 sprint time of 5.1 seconds, making this the world's fastest sedan in the early 1990s. Who needed an M5? The B10 Bi-Turbo was a towering achievement. Practically every moving part was made stronger to enable the twin Garrett T25, water-cooled turbochargers to do their stuff without the car falling apart. A 25 percent limited-slip diff makes it an entertaining drive too-as if the colossal performance wasn't enough.

Both cars give the impression of utmost quality and solidity. Yet they possess different characters. The B10 has the edge for me, possibly because of my affection for the E34, but probably because I can't help feeling that a car this big shouldn't be able to move this quickly. They both show how forward thinking Alpina was (and still is). It sees the potential in any BMW-a brand that has always impressed Bovensiepen for its consistent engineering prowess. More power, more exclusivity and no compromise when it comes to quality-that's the Alpina way.

1996 Alpina B8 4.6 Sedan
*Layout
Longitudinal front engine, rear-wheel drive
*Engine
4.6-liter V8, c, 32-valve
*Transmission
Six-speed manual
*Suspension
Independent, Alpina coil springs and dampers, anti-roll bars
*Brakes
Ventilated and drilled steel rotors front and rear
*Wheels And Tires
Alpina alloys, 8.5x17 (f), 9x17 (r) 235/40 (f), 265/35 (r)
*Dimensions
Length/Width/Height (in.): 174.5/66.8/54
Wheelbase: 106.3 in.
Curb Weight: 3,307 lb
*Performance
Peak Power: 333 hp @ 5700 rpm
Peak Torque: 347 lb-ft @ 4900 rpm
0-60 mph: 5.0 sec.
Top Speed: 175 mph


1992 Alpina B10 Bi-Turbo
*Layout
Longitudinal front engine, rear-wheel drive
*Engine
3.5-liter inline six, c, 24-valve, turbocharged and intercooled
*Transmission
Five-speed manual
*Suspension
Independent, MacPherson struts and lower wishbones, Alpina coil springs, anti-roll bars
*Brakes
13.1-inch rotors (f), 11.8-inch rotors (r)
*Wheels And Tires
Alpina alloys, 8.5x17 (f), 9x17 (r) 235/45 (f), 265/40 (r)
*Dimensions
Length/Width/Height (in.): 185.7/68.8/54.8
Wheelbase: 68.8 in.
Curb Weight: 3,730 lb
*Performance
Peak Power: 360 hp @ 6000 rpm
Peak Torque: 382 lb-ft @ 4000 rpm
0-60 mph: 5.1 sec.
Top Speed: 181 mph


Ten Things You (Probably) Didn't Know About Alpina

1. Alpina's ties to BMW began after founder Bovensiepen tuned his Fiat 1500. It broke down once too often, so he needed a brand that was built properly in the first place. BMW fit the bill.

2. The first Alpina-tuned BMW was the 1500. After the 1800 was launched in 1963, fitting the Alpina tuning kit to the smaller-engined car gave it performance equal to that of the newcomer.

3. BMW was so impressed by Alpina's aftermarket modifications it gave the company factory approval, meaning the cars fell under BMW's own warranty.

4. Alpina was officially recognized in Germany as a manufacturer in 1983.

5. The Alpina logo features a pair of inlet trumpets and a crankshaft.

6. Every Alpina car is fitted with a plaque in the cabin with its own particular build number-handy for weeding out the fakes.

7. In the past 10 years, Alpina's worldwide sales have tripled, with 2007 being the company's best year yet after selling 1,500 cars.

8. The alloys on the current B7 are 21 inches in diameter and cost $4,200. Each.

9. The first Alpina officially imported into the USA was the company's version of the Z8, simply called the Alpina Roadster. U.S. customers bought 450 of them.

10. Bovensiepen proved his cars were up to the task by driving them to victory in the European Touring Car Championship of 1970, as well as the Spa-Francorchamps 24-Hour race.



http://www.europeancarweb.com/featur...dan/index.html

[BMWDriver]

Great entry ! Somebody put this in the "for keeps" section !