MCP MOTORSPORT TESTIMONIALS
The M Alternatives
If you're in the market for one of BMW's go-faster models, you're probably thinking of a letter and a number. And depending on what you demand from your car, I'm ready to bet that you're thinking either M3 or M5.
Superb machines both - that goes without saying - but to suggest that the best of Bavarian comes just from the boys in Motorsport division is a blinkered attitude. Quite apart from all the tuning companies you can go to - AC Schnitzer et al - there's another production alternative: Alpina. Any BMW fan worth their salt would know about the Buchloe company and all the respective models. The two cars featured here are prime examples of the marque.
We're at MCP Motorsport in Norfolk, which is Martin Pearse's car sales company. He imports LHD performance cars from the continent and then sells them in Britain as depreciation-proof motors. We featured a B8 Touring of his back in the May 2003 issue and when we heard he had two V8 Alpinas we just had to go and see them.
What these cars represent is the thinking mans performance BMW, an exclusive badge that sets you apart from all the M Division derivatives. Indeed, this pair is extremely rare. The E36 is a B8 4.6 saloon made in 1996 and is proudly proclaimed as number 0046. Powered by a 4.6 V8 developing 333 bhp, you're talking about something which has a hell of a lot more punch than a 3-litre M3 and even more go than a 3.2 Evo. It's a subtle way of going fast and even people in the know might assume you're in the less powerful B3.
A beautiful car it is too, in Montreal Blue metallic. It's got a full history and has spent all of its life in Germany. With 100,000 on the clock it's a high-mileage example, but an Alpina [and indeed, most BMWs] will simply eat up this kind of usage if it has been welt maintained. This one has, so you can look forward to another 100,000 miles and more if you treat it right.
It's got the trademark Alpina 20-spoke alloys on Michelin Pilot Sports, 235/4OZR17 at the front, 265/35ZR17 rear. Inside is grey cloth with the Alpina green and blue stripes, and electric everything, climate control and a six-CD player in the boot. Intriguingly, it's also a six-speed manual, which means it's one of the quickest Alpinas ever made. You're looking at a mph dash in 5.5 seconds a top speed of 175 mph. An M3 wouldn't get close to you on an Autobahn.
You'll remember that we featured a B8 Touring in the mag back in May last year and that was also one of MCP Motorsport's cars. This saloon is on sale for £16,000, which might sound like a lot for a 100,000-mile E36, but remember this - back in 1995 the B8 was not an official UK import; we had to make do with the B3. Sytner in Nottingham could get its hands on a B8 for you, but the price was a terrifying £63,000. Now, consider that this Alpina has undergone most of its horrific depreciation and you'll realise why it's a better bet than an M3- it'll hold its value due to the rarity factor, it's more exclusive and by heavens, it's fast! All right, if you're a stickler for RHD cars this isn't for you, but you're the one missing out. It's a cracking car, and conspicuously good value for money at this price.
Martin loves both the Alpinas for their performance and says that the big V8 in the front of the E36 doesn't affect its handling: "Alpinas are just something else entirely," he says candidly, "the M cars simply cannot get near them on the roads - it's like comparing George Best and David Beckham. I think they're some of the most well-sorted cars I've ever driven." He does import some M cars and the odd Merc or Audi, but he specialises in Alpinas and Porsches because he says these two marques are better than anything else.
The 1999 Touring (number 0094) you see here is something very special. Here at TBMW, we've got a strange penchant for fast estates. There's a wonderful shock factor about a load-lugger which can go quicker than most hot hatches - think Audi RS6 and Mercedes E55 AMG Estate as prime examples. What's missing? An M5 Touring, of course, certainly in E39 guise anyway. Alpina filled that niche with this, the B10V8 Touring.
This one, a German car, was running with a 520i badge on the boot, which we think is particularly evil of the owner, luring have-a-go-heroes into a race and then blasting them into the weeds. Martin regales us with a tale of a new Jaguar XJ which tried its luck and failed, quite dismally by all accounts.
The B10 is powered by the same V8 as the B8, but it runs unfettered at 340 bhp thanks to a different exhaust from the Alpina Three. Despite being a Switchtronic auto, you're still looking at sub-6 seconds 0-62 mph times and a top speed in excess of 172 mph. Rapid doesn't begin to describe it.
Martin tells us that of the two, he prefers the B10 because it's in such fantastic condition. The deep Oxford Green metallic paint makes the car even more discreet than usual, hiding the Alpina front splitter and rear valance to great effect. Those alloys are present again, still on Michelin Pilot Sports and with the same profile and aspect ratios of the B8, but this time on bigger 18 inch rims. They look fantastic and the whole car is spotless. It's another German-owned car which hasn't been subjected to the road-salt, potholed nightmare conditions of British roadways and it shows. Inside is again charcoal cloth with the Alpina decals everywhere, dual climate control and an Alpina leather wheel with the Switchtronic buttons for gearshifting.
Out onto the roads with them and it's quickly apparent that the B10 is a devastating tool. Q car doesn't quite encapsulate how innocuous this V8 monster looks and sounds, until you floor the accelerator and it lunges off to the horizon, the near-silent ride of the cruising Alpina is transformed into a snarling Touring rocketship. It effortlessly hauls tarmac once it's opened up and the slush-box doesn't detract from its quite monumental [with the emphasis on mental] per- formance. The B8 is quicker because it has to lug less weight around, but somehow it's the pace and presence of the B10 that sticks with you more. Martin prefers the B10 too, reckoning it's probably the better drive because the E39 was always designed to be capable of having a V8 driving the wheels whereas V8 E36s were never a factory option from BMW. We've seen a couple of V8 Threes recently, but this is a ready-made one just awaiting the right owner. And at first glance it looks like a debadged 320i saloon.
As second-hand buys, these two are different enough to be special, yet familiar to all BMW fans alike. You'd be paying the same money for an M3 Evo in as good condition as the B8, and there's not an E39 Touring that could get near this £19,000 B10. Even the cheapest M5s are still over £20,000. They're both sensational cars, with quite different characters and they represent a lot of bang for your buck. Someone once said to me that Alpina take a good car and make it even better - with these V8s, I think that's absolutely spot-on.
Contact
MCP Motorsport
Norfolk
01263 822481
www.mcpmotorsport.com
Tech Spec
Alpina B10 V8 Touring
Engine
Alpina 4619cc 32 -valve V8, standard Alpina B10 exhaust system. Power 340 bhp at 5700 rpm, 347 Ibf.ft at 3800 rpm, 0-62 5.9 seconds, max speed 172 mph plus.
Transmission
Five-speed ZF5HP24 automatic gearbox with Alpina Switchtronic, ASC
Suspension
Alpina springs and dampers, anti-roll bars front and rear
Brakes
Ventilated discs all round with floating callipers, ABS
Wheels & Tyres
Alpina 20-spoke 18 inch alloys, Michelin Pilot Sport tyres all round, 235/4OZR18s front, 265/35ZR18s rear
Exterior
Alpina B10 V8 Touring in Oxford Green metallic, Alpina branded front splitter, Alpina rear valance, debadged
Interior
Alpina charcoal cloth interior with Alpina blue and green piping, Alpina multifunction steering wheel, climate control, electric windows all round, Alpina headlining plaque, electric folding mirrors.
Alpina B8 4.6 Saloon
Engine
Alpina 4619cc 32-valve V8. standard Alpina B8 exhaust system. Power 333 bhp at 5700 rpm 347 Ibf.ft at 3800 rpm, 0-62 5.5 seconds, max speed 175 mph.
Transmission
Six-speed Getrag manual gearbox, LSD
Suspension
Alpina springs and dampers, anti-roll bars front and rear.
Brakes
Ventilated discs all round with floating callipers, ABS
Wheels & Tyres
Alpina 20-spoke 17 inch alloys, Michelin Pilot Sport tyres all round, 235/40ZR17s front 265/35ZR17srear
Exterior
Alpina B8 4.6 Limousine in Montreal Blue metallic, Alpina branded front splitter, Alpina rear valance and boot spoiler, debadged
Interior
Alpina charcoal cloth interior with Alpina blue and green piping, electric front windows, electric sunroof, cruise control, three-spoke leather steering wheel, air conditioning, Alpina dash plaque, electric folding mirrors Alpina blue dials.
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