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My Alpina B3S coupe

15K views 75 replies 52 participants last post by  E92M 
#1 · (Edited)
Hi guys and gals. Someone requested some pictures of my car and details.

As you probably know Alpinas are BMW cars that are pulled from the BMW production line, sent over to Germany and then stripped and rebuilt by hand. Their cars are not supposed to be 'balls out' performance cars like the M3, but are a more comfortable option for the conessieur. :D ;)

My particular car is quite rare, only 27 of them were ever made for the UK market (right hand drive). It's also loaded with options...

The B3S is actually based on a 330 coupe but it has custom interior, suspension and of course... the engine! The suspension is design to give a sporty feel, yet without the rough, crashy ride you get with an M3. Alpina springs, shocks and arbs are used to create this fine balance of performance / comfort.

The engine is actually based on a US M3 block, which is bored and stroked to produce a 3.4L engine by using a custom Mahle crankshaft and oversize Mahle pistons. The head is gasflowed at the engine builders and takes them over 10 hours! Mahle cams are used in conjunction with the other bits to produce and engine with 305bhp (actually nearer 320bhp on a rolling road!) as standard and 275ftlb torque which is available throughout 80% of the rev range. As lightened Mahle pistons are used the engine revs freely and redlines at 7200rpm. The noise on full chat is enough to make a grown man piss himself with joy :D

The ECU has also been replaced with an uprated Siemens unit which has been mapped to death by Alpina to produce maximum usable power yet keeps emmisions to a minimum. It will return 35mpg on a run, yet on average returns 25mpg in a mixture of stop/start and free flowing traffic.

Performance? Well in the UK they only came with 'Alpina Switchtronic' yet most other countries has a manual option. The mnaual version gets to 62mph in 5 seconds, whilst my version does it in 6 seconds flat. Oh, it's also unlimited out of the factory and will do 169mph! :eek:

The gearbox is an uprated BMW steptronic which has a Bosch/Alpina ECU strapped on to it for better control over the gears. Like most auto BMWs you can have it in auto or manual mode - in manual you can go up and down the gears be sequentially pulling/pushing the stick or using the steering wheel mounted buttons. Changing gear is instantanious and it stays in whatever gear you tell it to be in until you hit the rev limiter or drop to stalling speeds where it'll select the best gear.

In auto mode it have several gearbox maps which are automatically chosen depending on how you drive... i.e. if you drive slowly it'll change up saving you fuel.. drive fast and it'll fire you into the limiter before changing up and it'll keep the revs up rather than changing into a slouchy gear between corners.

Anyway, enough waffling.. here's some pictures!



















I'll get some pictures of some of the special Alpina finishes like a gold crest imprinted into the wood dash inserts and the Alpina make, model and number plaque installed in every car that comes off their production line.

If you have any questions, please ask away!

Rich
 
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#11 ·
:drool::drool::drool:
 
#18 ·
Honestly suprised they didnt put any rings around the guages :hmm:

are their any other noticeable differences in the interior vs. a stock sport pack?? cuz im not seeing any... i was expecting a different type of seat / color // or perhaps a different type of leather.... at least some custom trim pieces .. not wood... :tsk:
why isn't their an alpina badge instead of a bmw badge?

looks like a wannabe aplina 330ci with some alpina parts thrown on.
Alpina cars aren't just badges and stuff....
 
#14 ·
Honestly suprised they didnt put any rings around the guages :hmm:

are their any other noticeable differences in the interior vs. a stock sport pack?? cuz im not seeing any... i was expecting a different type of seat / color // or perhaps a different type of leather.... at least some custom trim pieces .. not wood... :tsk:
 
#21 · (Edited)
The B3 S Alpina is a amazing car! I hope you DONT mod it. I truly believe, along with most Alpina enthusiast that these classic, historic cars should remain stock! The 3.4L is ridiculous in that car! IMO B3S>M3, maybe not spec wise, but the true bmw enthusiast will respect!

The engine is actually based on a US M3 block, which is bored and stroked to produce a 3.4L
I thought the B3 S has a M54 3.0L which Alpina bored to a 3.4L?
 
#25 · (Edited)
Hi all, I'll answer some of these questions :)

Interior:
The differences are subtle as after all, it as a BMW underneath! The dahs has custom Alpina gauges which go up to 180mph and have a tasteful blue backing. The steering wheel has alpina custom stitching around the rim and an alpina badge on front - not to mention buttons of the back of the wheel for 'SMG-like' gear changes. There's also alpina inserts in the door seals, an alpina gold emplem engraved into the wood trim on the passengers side and a special plaque with the model and build number on it...

I guess the point is.. alpina don't want to reinvent the wheel. The interior is very good inside BMWs, so why spend £1000's in redesigning something which already works? Some alpina have an engraved logo on the back of the seat - mine doesn't :(

Exterior:
BMW badges?! Yes, part of the deal with BMW so that it can get services at their dealerships was that it would be called a 'BMW Alpina' - hence the BMW badges. There is no such thing as an external alpina badge on the bodywork.. if you see one, it's off ebay. There's a new front lower spoiler to improve aerodynamics and obviously badges.
The wheels are alpina specials, 18" as standard but they now have 19"+ in the same style for their newer cars! don't mistake these for the copies on ebay. The middle badge of the wheel swivels to revieal a lock, which once unlocked removes the centre panel where you have access to the nuts and tyre valve. Yes, there is no visable tyre valve... Tyres sizes are 235/40 and 255/35 as standard.

Engine:
The engine is based on an M52 block after reading up, I think which is bored out - I'm not really a BMW guru. It has a single vanos head, I know that much! The exhaust headers?! (we call them manifolds in the UK) are special stainless steel numbers made by alpina to maximise flow through the exhaust. The exhaust also has a computer controlled valve which changes the tone of the exhaust depending on how you're driving. i.e. start it from cold in the morning and it'll rattle the house windows.. yet in 40 seconds will go silent (until you boot it!).

In general:
Having never owner a BMW before (was into turbo *** cars before this) I can't tell you exactly what has changed form the original car to be honest.

The whole point of an alpina is to be subtle and discreet. People who want to shout about their fast car bought an M3... rich businessmen bought alpinas as most people have no idea what it is and what it can do. (I'm not a rich businessman by the way!!).

As I said before, I'll get some pictures of all these 'special' bits when I get my car back Friday :)

Rich
 
#33 ·
Yeah they made a B3S touring. They're even rarer in the UK.. about 8-12 of them from memory.

I'm normally found driving between Reading and Hungerford (where I work) obscene, although off to the New Forest camping this weekend (it'll rain, I just know it!) :D

Rich
 
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