Description
BMW Alpina E34 B10 Bi-Turbo – unhinged exotica.
The E34 Alpina B10 Bi-Turbo is one of the most powerful, impressive and downright mad machines to come out of the late 80s and early 90s. While its stable-mate – the M5 – was all about engineering refinement, and pushing technical envelopes, the B10 Bi-Turbo was all about brute force and unrestrained power. It was also twice the price of an M5. The Bi-Turbo was quite simply a supercar with a saloon shell – unhinged and unapologetic, just like a supercar should be – making the M5 seem almost boring by comparison. Not content with simply adding turbos to the standard 3. 5 litre M30 engine, Alpina first set to work on the basic engine, including uprated forged Mahle pistons – they also modified the brakes (bigger rotors), suspension (uprated anti-roll bars, springs and Bilstein shocks), colling system and a more robust Getrag gearbox. Then they bolted on two huge Garrett T25 water-cooled turbochargers, and added Bosch variable boost control. The result was astonishing 355 bhp and a planet-crushing 520 Nm of torque, making it one of the most powerful cars of the decade, directly within range of the Ferrari Testarossa. 0-60 times of under 5 seconds have been independently recorded, with top speed reaching just short of the all-important 300 kph mark – around 180 mph.
Driving a B10 Bi-Turbo today is still a remarkable experience, with laugh-out-loud performance even by comparison to today’s fast BMWs. As usual with Alpina, there’s also a healthy dose of exotica, a feel of refined sporting exclusivity. Rammed full of gadgets, and fancy dials showing boost pressure and turbo output, the interior leaves you in no doubt what you’re driving, or how you’re meant to do it. There’s even a little knob to dial up the boost, which should always be set to zero when leaving the car, just to enjoy the experience of turning it up to 11 once the car reaches temperature on the next outing. The B10 Bi-Turbo is not a car for the faint of heart – it’s a big bruiser of a machine that emboldens the driver and fills you with a sense of success and power.
Or course, you had to be successful to drive one of these cars as a daily, back in the day. Not brilliant on fuel consumption, and not cheap to run, buying an Alpina B10 Bi-Turbo marked you out not just as a wealthy individual, but someone with exclusive taste and an eye for a truly special car – only 507 people in the world had one from new – and the guts to get behind the wheel (and pay the bills).
Today, its harder to think of a more iconic, era defining, special – in the truest sense of the word – machine. Well maintained examples are rarer than you think, as over time, the values dropped but the running costs didn’t – meaning not all owners were inclined to maintain a high standard for their monster machines. This particular B10 Bi-Turbo has benefitted from a succession of owners that have taken care to keep their pride and joy ready for action, and physically sound.
Munich Legends have great history with this car, having seen it several times over the years, and sold it on behalf of its then owner in the late 2010s. The history file is simply ram-packed with documentation – invoices, MOT certificates and so on, painting a remarkable picture of this iconic car’s life to date.
Our technical team have carried out a rigorous inspection and have been impressed with their findings, with half the team queuing up for a test drive in this incredible machine. James – our head of restorations (who carried out the inspection/ report) – summed it up simply. ‘That is a car I’d love to own’. And from a man who is more than used to the potential pitfalls and costs of a modern classic such as a B10 Bi-Turbo, that is praise indeed.
For more details or information on this fantastic car, please contact our showroom team. We highly recommend viewing (by appointment only please) – as long as you’ve taken your brave pill…
