Description
The Alpina B6s is a car that has surpassed Legend status and acquired an almost mythical level of rarity. Many Alpina experts and aficionados claim that the B6s is the greatest car Alpina ever made. Only 62 of these amazing machines were produced worldwide, but its not just those numbers that make the B6s special. BMW sent finished the finished E30 M3 from their factory in Munich-Milbertshofe straight over to Alpina in Buchloe meaning that unlike most Alpina cars, the ‘donor’ was a fully-fledged ‘M’ car rather than a standard production BMW. But, never mind your E30 M3 with its comparatively silly four pot 2. 3 litre engine. The B6s uses the 3. 5 litre incarnation of the classic straight six M30, probably BMW’s most successful engine of all time.
However things definitely did not stop there. Alpina went to work on the M30 and ended up making some pretty radical changes; longer con rods and shorter Mahle pistions, a revised cylinder head, remapped Bosch Motronic engine management, and an uprated cooling system to handle the extra power. The difference was remarkable – horsepower was up from the standard 218hp to 260 as well as increased torque (320Nm). Just for direct comparison, the most powerful E30 M3, the final version (Sport Evolution) reached only 235hp with 240Nm of torque. This, of course, in its day, made the B6s one of the fastest cars on the road, and it still feels quick today, largely due to such monstrous torque in such a light car. The difference between an M3 and a B6s is as obvious behind the wheel as the numbers suggest.
On the other hand, perhaps unsurprisingly, Alpina decided that the chassis was perfect already, so needed no changes (that’s the one area nobody can argue with on an E30 M3) with the rear suspension unchanged, and for the front simply using the air conditioning-spec upgraded M3 suspension to take into account the extra upfront weight of the M30. The gearbox is also the Getrag dogleg 5 speed in common with the original M3.
All this makes for an utterly compelling machine. Based on one of the greatest touring cars ever made, tuned by BMW obsessives – the same people that propelled BMW onto the world racing stage in the first place – and trimmed out with that unmistakable Alpina style – the striped seats, those gauges in the air vents, the multi-spoke Alpina 16” alloys and of course all finished in beautiful Alpina Blue. Let’s face it, if you’re going to own a 3. 5 B6s, Alpina Blue is the colour to have it in.
This particular E30 B6s – chassis BA50060 – was built in October 1990 and delivered new to France. We believe that the second owner – a doctor – bought the car to the UK and registered it here for the first time in June 1991, and it was subsequently purchased by Bramley Motors near Guildford, from whom our owner bought the car in September 1992. He owned the car for the rest of its life until his unfortunate passing – currently the car is still owned by his family. The history file is a fantastic testament to the affection the owner had for his B6s, thorough and comprehensive, including pretty well every invoice and bit of paper pertaining to the life of the car, and making for truly fascinating provenance.
Our restoration work
The family spoke to us about the condition of the car, which had never been restored (it had, in fact, had some below-par paint applied) and it was decided to instruct Munich Legends to carry out a full body restoration. The car was stripped to a bare shell, and taken back to bare metal. Any filler was removed, any corrosion removed and then re-metaled. The car was then put through our usual prep and paint process, finally completed with a brand new set of OEM supplied Alpina stripes. Suspension, fuel and brake lines, all rubber hoses, all bushes – all those elements with age related decline or damaged have been restored or replaced, with every aspect that was better kept original, preserved in its genuine original state. The whole process has been minutely documented with pictures, and the results are plain to see. The perfect combination of a highly original car in fantastic cosmetic and mechanical condition, with a sympathetically restored shell and all the important originality still present. Please ask our team for full details.
For more information on this truly exceptional car, please contact our showroom team - for the full photo gallery please visit our website. Restoration photos available by request.
