Review
It’s a bit like Ruf Automobile: it’s rather difficult to get an overview of all the BMWs that Alpina has improved. But that’s understandable in a way, because Alpina was originally a brand of office machines. On 1 January 1965, Burkard Bovensiepen founded Alpina Burkard Bovensiepen GmbH + Co. KG, based in Buchloe, under the same name as his father’s company. In the early years, Alpina was nothing more than a tuner; incidentally, it first tried its hand at a Fiat 1500. In the early years, the company earned money with add-on parts, chassis improvements and, of course, slightly refreshed engines, which it then spent again on the race track. But Alpina was always a little more refined, better equipped, cleaner in its work, not a backyard tinkerer. However, it was not until 1983 that Alpina was allowed to call itself an automobile manufacturer, also by the grace of BMW; in the early years, it was actually ‘pimp my ride’, albeit at a high level. But let’s start with a legend: the Alpina 3.0 CSL, 250 hp, 0-100 in 6.7 seconds, top speed 243 km/h.
We’ll leave the early days with BMW’s New Class and the E10 aside for now, partly due to a lack of decent pictures, and move straight on to the E12, for which Alpina offered various configurations from 1972 onwards at the customer’s request: the A4 four-cylinder with 170 hp for the BMW 520, but above all the B2 six-cylinder from the Alpina 3.0 CS with its 230 hp. We also have a nice story about this, here.
This was followed by the E21, for which Alpina offered four different new four-cylinder engines from 1976 onwards: A1/3 (120 hp), A2/3 (150 hp), A4/3 (160 hp) and A4S/3 (170 hp). More important, however, was the C1 2.3, also with 170 hp, but with a six-cylinder engine. And because BMW had delivery problems with its own 323i, this C1 2.3 became Alpina’s first successful model (probably 462 units between 1976 and 1983).
The big moment came at the 1978 IAA, when Alpina introduced three new models at once: the B6 2.8, the B7 Turbo and the B7 Turbo Coupé. Let’s stick with the 3 Series, or E21, for now, which, as the B6 2.8, was fitted with the 2.8-litre six-cylinder engine from the BMW 528i. Of course, Alpina didn’t stop at the conversion, but improved the engine with Mahle pistons and a new fuel injection system from Zenith-Pierburg-DL. This resulted in 200 hp and a maximum torque of 248 Nm, with the 3 Series accelerating to 100 km/h in 7.5 seconds and reaching a top speed of 225 km/h. In 1981, Alpina went one better, achieving 218 hp. A total of 533 of these B6 2.8s were built.
(And it goes on, much further:
E23: 733i Alpina
E24: B7 Turbo Coupé / B7 S Turbo Coupé / B9 3.5 Coupé
E24/1: B7 Turbo Coupé/1 / B9 3.5 Coupé/1 / B10 3.5 Coupé
E28: B7 Turbo/1 / B9 3.5 / B10 3.5
E30: B3 2.7 / B6 2.8/1 / B6 3.5 / B6 3.5 S / C1 2.3/1 / C1 2.5 / C2 2.5 / C2 2.7
E31: B12 5.0 Coupé / B12 5.7 Coupé
E32: B11 3.5 / B11 4.0 / B12 5.0
E34: B10 3.0 Allrad / B10 3.5/1 / B10 4.0 / B10 4.6 / B10 BiTurbo
E36: B3 3.0 / B3 3.0 Edition 30 / B3 3.2 / B6 2.8/2 / B8 4.8
E38: B12 5.7 / B12 6.0
E39: B10 3.2 / B10 3.3 / B10 V8 / B10 V8 S / D10 BiTurbo
E46: B3 3.3 / B3 S
E52: RLE Roadster S / RLE Roadster V8
E60/61: B5 / B5 S
E63/64: B6 / B6 S
E65/66: B7 / B7 (Nord-Amerika)
E85: RLE Roadster S / RLE Roadster V8
E90/91/92/93: B3 BiTurbo / B3 S BiTurbo / B3 GT3 / D3 / D3 BiTurbo
F06: B6 BiTurbo Gran Coupé / B6 (Nord-Amerika)
F01/02: B7 BiTurbo / B7 (Nord-Amerika)
F10/11: B5 BiTurbo / B5 BiTurbo Edition 50 / D5 BiTurbo / D5 Turbo
F12/13: B6 BiTurbo / B6 BiTurbo Edition 50
F30/31/32/33: B3 BiTurbo / B3 S BiTurbo / D3 BiTurbo / B4 BiTurbo / B4 S BiTurbo / B4 S BiTurbo Edition 99 / D4 BiTurbo
G12: B7 BiTurbo / B7 (Nord-Amerika)
G16: B8 Gran Coupé
G20/21/26: B3 Allrad / B3 GT / D3 S Allrad / B4 Gran Coupé / B4 GT Gran Coupé / D4 S Cran Coupé
G30/31: B5 BiTurbo Allrad / B5 GT / D5 S Allrad
Z1: RLE Roadster S / RLE Roadster V8)
On a related note, here’s something else:
Alpina B10 3.5 (1989)
Auction: Oldtimer Galerie Toffen, March 2026, estimated price 30,000 to 35,000 Swiss francs, with the following details: “This BMW Alpina B10 3.5 was delivered in Switzerland, supplied by Alpina to the importer Max Heidegger on 8 February 1989 and handed over to the first owner by Emil Frey SA in Geneva on 15 March of the same year. CHF 98,970 (over CHF 40,000 more than for a BMW 535i) was charged for the sporty saloon in ‘diamond black metallic’ with grey leather upholstery, electrically adjustable sports seats, electric sunroof, automatic climate control, cruise control and limited-slip differential. The first owner – a Spanish citizen residing in the canton of Geneva – enjoyed using the Alpina for trips to his home country and had it serviced at the local BMW dealership. In 2015, with around 130,000 km on the clock, the B10 changed hands to its second owner, who only covered a good 4,000 km with it in the following years. Maintenance was carried out in the company’s own workshop before the car passed to its last owner at the end of 2021. With 137,500 km on the clock, a service booklet, some receipts and all the keys, the Alpina is in good condition and well maintained, with the usual signs of wear. The last MFK (vehicle inspection) as a veteran vehicle took place in November 2025.»
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Alpina B3 S BiTurbo Coupé (2012)
Auction: Oldtimer Galerie Toffen,
March 2026, estimated price 48,000 to 54,000 Swiss francs, with the following details: “The B3 S Coupé with all-wheel drive and the number 93 offered here was handed over to its first owner on 26 June 2012 by the well-known Heidegger company in Triesen. For around CHF 105,000, he received a “wolf in sheep’s clothing” based on the BMW E92, which, with its 400 hp biturbo inline six-cylinder engine, Switchtronic automatic transmission and a top speed of 295 km/h, was a veritable sports car with a discreet appearance and featured elegant Alpina leather upholstery, heated seats, air conditioning, navigation, a sound system and much more. He loved his Alpina and probably only used it in good weather – by 2024, it had only covered around 14,000 km. In June of that year, the beautiful coupé changed hands to its second and, to date, last owner, an absolute Alpina nerd who integrated the car into his brand collection. He only covered just under 2,500 km with the B3 S before deciding to sell the rare sports car again for space reasons. As the complete service booklet shows, the Alpina was regularly serviced by a BMW specialist in the canton of Bern. With just under 16,500 km on the clock, the Alpina is in excellent original condition and will be handed over to a new enthusiast with its last MOT in January 2026.»
No, Alpinas are not expected to see the same extreme price increases as Ruf models. But they are unlikely to get any cheaper either. We have more exciting vehicles in our archive.
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