Euro Love - My New ALPINA

[RyanV]

I've had this under wraps for a while now, but I can't hold it in anymore. I am the proud owner of a 1996 Alpina 4.6 B8 . Never heard of it? Well you Euro guys probably have, but most people from North America probably have no idea this car even exists. I didn't have any idea until about a year ago when I saw a 4.0L Japanese version pass through auction. I started to read about the car and I was absolutely stunned. The specs in short:

221 cars built with 93 of them being the saloon model I have purchased
This is build #63
Started with BMW 4.0L engine
Alpina head
Getrag 6spd gearbox
Similar suspension etc as other Alpina's except front brakes are custom Lucas rotors with special calipers (....I really hope I don't have to replace these soon....)
Alpina accents (first owner didn't order Alpina badges seats though)
Claimed 0-60 in 5.6, however it has been suggested that this is conservative
333 hp, 470 Nm

For more information and specs check out the Alpina Archive:

http://www.alpina-archive.com/?page_id=59

My car....Isn't going to win Alpina of the year. It needs some work. It has the usual E36 problems such as sagging roof liner. The paint isn't perfect, and I'm suspecting will need a respray make it look good. However, I'm not concerned about this for the near future. The fake wood trim additions by Alpina is cheap and split in several locations (see photo). Cap on gear nob is cracked This disappointed me more than anything else. I'm not sure why, but it did.

Aside from these defects, the car comes with all original books and a full service history. It also comes with a very long "Shaken Vehicle Inspection" history from it's time in Japan. Being the 4.6 model this vehicle was imported into Japan when it was new and sold at a dealership new when it was originally imported to Japan in 1996. It presently has 99,xxx kms.

ETA sometime in the next week or two, so I should have it in my possession before the end of September. As with my '92 Aristo Mark from Brave Auto International helped me get this car ( Brave Auto International - Exporter of Japanese JDM & European Vehicles Direct From Japan. ). Mark was a champ as always and helped me get my bid in on this car and answered e-mails even though he was away on holidays.

Time for some pics