Imagine having access to an M6, 750iL, two Alpina B10 Bi Turbo's, a B3 3.0 and a B8. Oh, and running a prestige car storage facility. Some people have all the luck.

When we got a call from Jonathan Sturgess asking if we'd like to come and photograph a collection of BMWs acquired by him and his father, we were vaguely interested. Then he listed them and we asked how quickly we might be able to meet up.

Firstly, let me tell you that Jonathan is only 23 years old and that his job involves driving other people's Porsche 959s, Ferrari Testarossas and any number of Aston Martins. Do you hate him yet? How about if I were to tell you that he runs an Alpina B3 3.0 and an Alpina B8 saloon. His father runs around in an E38 750iL and an Alpina B10 Bi-Turbo while his mum pops to the shops in an M6. They have recently sourced another mint Bi-Turbo for his father's business partner, after he had sampled the awesome Alpina and had to have one.

We were quite prepared to be bitter and jealous, but it soon becomes clear that Jonathan is a BMW fanatic with a massive enthusiasm for the marque. 'I should have got my brother to bring across his M3 Evo Convertible, but they're a bit more common. We also have an E32 7 Series and an E34 Touring as company runarounds,' he explains. Apparently, they're better for picking up clients than a Mondeo estate. Quite. Given the exotica that surrounds Jonathan on a day-to-day basis, how come his allegiance lies with the Bavarian marque?

His father and his business partner were both introduced to BMWs when they were younger and got E21 323's as company cars. They were such a huge step forward in terms of quality and driving enjoyment from what they'd previously owned that it was the beginning of a long-running love affair.

Over the years there have been several other BMWs including an Alpina B11 that passed the 250,000-mile mark and was still going strong until an altercation with another car sent it into retirement.

The silver M6 has been in the family since new. It's one of the last cars, with Highline spec, fully leathered interior, Alpina rims. It still looks smart, 12 years and 90,000 miles on. 'It's actually my mother's car,' explains Jonathan as I struggle with the firm clutch. 'She loves it to bits - and she hates letting us boys borrow it as she thinks we drive too fast!' Now, be honest, how many of you have a mum who drives a manual 286bhp super coupé to Sainsbury's?

His father needn't feel too hard done by, though, as he has the option to slip behind the wheel of an E38 750iL or the mighty Alpina B10 Bi-Turbo. The 750 was bought as a replacement for the recently deceased B11 and Jonathan reckons it's the ideal mile-muncher. Moreover, if pushed, it does a passable impersonation of a sports saloon. 'It's not quite as good a driver's car as the E32, though,' says Jonathan, somewhat wistfully.

The B10 Bi-Turbo was bought to fill the driver satisfaction factor, although it had been a while since he had owned a quick, manual BMW. Suffice to say, the ultimate E34 made a hell of an impact on Jonathan's father and before very long his business partner was enquiring as to whether it might be possible to source him a similar car.

Jonathan is keen to stress the value of having a skilled mechanic as part of the team when investigating potential purchases. But cars like the Bi Turbo are getting increasingly rare. As Jonathan explains: 'We were after a very low mileage example for the second car and enlisted the help of Martin Pearse of MCP Motorsport to help them source a minter. The result was the immaculate black car with only 40k on the clock.'

Which leaves us with Jonathan's own brace of beauties: the B3 3.0 Coupe and B8 4.6 saloon in matching blue metallic with full Alpina decals. The B3 is in superb condition, with only 40,000 miles on the clock. 'I think this is definitely the better looking of the two cars,' muses Jonathan. 'If only the B8 didn't exist I would have been happy to keep it.'

Once the bug had bitten, Jonathan scoured the market until he found one of the rare V8 E36s. 'It has awesome performance and it looks so subtle.' Would he mind terribly if we just tickled it up the road? No? Splendid. It's easy to appreciate his enthusiasm for this machine as soon as you open the throttles. There is torque and power everywhere, and the exhaust note is lovely. 'My father has told me not to let him drive the B8 in case it ruins his enjoyment of the Bi-Turbo!' laughs Jonathon.

The only downside is that he can't justify keeping them both and just after our photoshoot the B3 departed for a new home. 'It's a shame to part with it, but I need to fund the B8 purchase somehow,' he says.

Is there anything in the current BMW range that could tempt any of them to swap? 'Well, the M5 and M3 are pretty interesting but to be honest, in an everyday situation, the B8 and the Bi-Turbo are every bit as quick, more subtle and much more exclusive.' There is also, of course, the value issue.

When new, an Alpina is a ferociously dear piece of kit. A few years on, and if you don't mind sitting sausage-side, they are a conspicuous bargain. For the price of a low-end Vauxhall Vectra you can be piloting a luxury saloon with the performance to see off most sports cars. Apparently, Mr Sturgess senior is more than happy to drive home in the Bi-Turbo rather than his classic Ferrari - on the grounds that it's not just more comfortable, but a darn sight quicker!

It remains to be seen if anything comes along to shake Jonathan's allegiance to his beloved B8. 'The problem is, Alpina just doesn't make anything as mad as the B8 or the B10 Bi-Turbo any more.' It's true. While the current B10 V8S is fast, it lacks the enormous and unrelenting urge of these cars. Mention of the 400bhp Hartge H50 does get him thinking, though.

In the meantime, they will have to 'make do' with this rather splendid selection. And on the drive back I wonder if it's too late to make additions to my Christmas list. Dear Santa.…