One of only 533 made over a four year run, this E21 Alpina B6 2.8 was a very lucky find for Triborough, who recently uploaded it to the Cohort after shooting it about six years ago. And if it is an original grey market car, whoever had it imported was very lucky indeed. While the E21 is more interesting than enthusiasts give it credit for, the disappointment upon its release was enough for Callaway to do solid business selling turbo kits for the 320i. Even those were still not as satisfying as the 323i that BMW kept in Europe, where standards were such that buyers wanted even more power.
To meet that demand, Alpina took the 2.8 six from the E12 528i and put it in the E21, creating the first B6 2.8. With high compression pistons, a new, distributorless ignition, a hot cam and Solex Pierburg Zenith DL fuel injection, the small BMW now made a solid 200 horsepower and a 1983 revision using L-Jet made 218. Hartge created a 335i using the 635CSi’s engine, but that torquier engine still only slightly the Alpina’s horsepower with 240. The takeaway here is, the early ’80s were a great time to have extra cash in Europe.
Alpina has been known to fit extremely wide tires to its cars, but for this model, the fifteen inch wheels shod with 205/50 tires in the rear and 195/50 tires in front were a rather sensible increase. The fitment of wider tires in the rear showed Alpina was well aware of the new 3-series’ propensity for oversteer, but with so much power on tap, it was probably even more dramatic than the stock 323i.
I wish there were more photos of that gorgeous red car to post, but I’m thankful for the chance to write about the car at all. It’s not everyday you see a car so sexy and in the case of early ’80s BMWs in the states, it’s even less common. The B6 2.8 was a success, but the cars which followed, based off that most famous of 3-series, the E30, were more famous. This, despite the wider variety of engines BMW offered stock. With so many powerful, over the top BMWs these days, it may be difficult to realize how utterly fabulous that red Alpina is, but back when the 3-series needed more power and luxury to match its fine manners, it was a genuine treat.
It was hard (painful, actually) to understand why BMW kept the 323 six out of the US. The 320i didn’t crack 100hp (IIRC), and was just not brisk or lively. Reading about the 323 in Europe, and having driven a 320i meant that it simply wasn’t on my wish list, regardless of whether I could afford it or not.
In LA at the time, the E21 320i already had become the classic BMW 3-Series status symbol; folks bought them because of the propeller on the hood and not because of what was under it. Sad. The E30 finally redeemed that somewhat when the six came along a few years after it first appeared (IIRC), but then it was the eta 2.8. Not until the 325i came did a 3 Series in the US finally live up to its potential. A lost decade. Not that it stopped BMW from selling them to the usual 3-Series buyers.
My 1977 320i had 110 hp (81 DIN kW) and 112 ft-lb (155Nm) of torque, as per the original brochure.
Not really much faster than my 1975 2002, but a much more modern car. One of the cool features I remember was the lighting for the instrument panel, which used thin optical fibers to carry the light from a central point to various locations, including (for example) the tips of the small slider buttons used to control the heater.
In Canada, they were not yet the status symbol they became in the early 1980s.
Right you are. But by 1981, the 320i was downgraded to a 1.8L with 101 hp, and that’s what I drove. And of course they weighed more than the 2002.
And that’s whats ALWAYS bothered me about BMWs and now Audis. Yuppies see them as status symbols and so people that like them are automatically thought of as yuppies and not gearheads. Yet the M3, Z series roadsters, RS-5, TT-S R8….all total drivers cars. Luckily both brands have the sedans and lower level coupes/convertibles to appeal to the status symbol set, yet if you max out your options theyre the real deal. Between my mechanically retarded friends and my total ‘murican car gearhead friends, no one quite understands how I view an M3 as just a German version of a Challenger. They all see yuppie mobile, not stylish, tight handling sports car with killer performance and driving dynamics.
Nice,BMWs were rare in the UK til the mid 80s then yuppie types started to buy them it’s no coincidence that rhyming slang for a self abuser is merchant banker.Eventually they fell down the food chain to the sort of money chavs and small time drug dealers. could spare.There was nothing built in the UK at the time to challenge BMWs.Rovers and Jaguars had dreadful build quality and were seen as dadmobiles.I’ve never had a BMW but always wanted one,the horror stories of expensive parts and repair bills scared me into a(European) Ford Granada Mk2.
BMWs from 30+ years ago look a lot more interesting than today’s jelly bean BMWs
Yeah, I don’t think that having money for a “nice” car means as much today, with low-end offerings being so much more competent and all cars being so heavy and isolated.
Well there are many interpretations of a ‘nice car’. For some its a luxo-sedan. For some, its all the techno bells and whistles. For others its anything relatively new and that runs. To me, an aspirational car is a muscular 2-door that can do 0-60 in no more than 5 seconds, has a gnarly V-8 or a boosted snarling 4 cyl and a purposeful, aggressive look. Id be just as happy with a Challenger R/T or a Audi RS-5. If someone gave me the keys to a 7 series BMW or whatever the big Mercedes is, thinking that’s a car that Id actually like….Id look at them like a total nut job. Probably, Id be insulted.
Amen. “Nice car” really is in the eye of the beholder. If I somehow inherited one of these Alpinas, one of you guys on here would be getting a good deal. I don’t like cars like that, just doesn’t do it for me. For me, that new 7 series or S class (thats the big Benz) would be the one I’d want if I had the money to play with. Super comfortable ride with lots of “presence”. All the yuppies and wannabes have their 3 series, you know you’re dealing with a real deal big shot when you see a new (must be pretty new or then you’re probably just dealing with a drug dealer or immigrant wannabe) long wheel base 7 series or S class drive by.
Anyone can drive something with a big motor that goes fast. If I’m rolling in an 2014 S-class, that means I can probably have a whole garage full of the car the punk kid that just smoked me has. Whoopdie-doo.
hehehe. the collective noun for bankers is ‘wunch’
I honestly think that Triumph could have been the British antidote to BMW, had they survived into the ’80s and had enough capital to actually engineer something through to its conclusion.
The Dolomite Sprint and 2500 PI should have been BMW fighters but most people who bought one ended up burning shoe leather instead of rubber.in the 60s and 70s Triumph had a car for everyone from economical little runabouts,sports cars,fast executive saloons and then it drained away to a badge engineered Honda then extinction.A sad end to a maker of some great cars.Had the Dolomite Sprint and 2500 PI been properly developed it may have been a different story but it was the same old BL,new models rushed into production with not enough time spent on development and not enough money available
Yet another cool car we didn’t see in the US. Even “normal” E21’s have long since fallen victim to the rust monster around here. I remember when my neighbor got his early 80s 320i…light metallic blue with navy leatherette seats and 5 speed. The weird vertical position of the radio (on A/C equipped cars) was a little weird, but I thought that car was just too cool. The guy next door to him had a silver Porsche 924 but I was always drawn to the BMW. I wasn’t driving yet, and my folks had an Olds Cutlass and an Olds Delta 88, not exactly the cars teenaged boys lust over.
Nice red car. Alpinas are occasionally spotted around Melbourne. Also been seeing some E28 BMWs with the letter M on them. Would love for someone on CC to spell out the various pre-90s hot BMWs (hint hint)
This is a decent overview of the BMW M-models:
http://www.caranddriver.com/features/40-years-of-bmw-m-tests-drives-and-more-feature
Since 1983 Alpina is a brand (automaker) with a BMW as a basis. Also diesels these days, like the Alpina D3 and D5.
And then you have Hartge, a well-known BMW tuner. As you may know, Germany is loaded with professional tuners for their domestic brands. They have one thing in common: no 250 km/h factory speed limiter, both the gasolines and the diesels. A diesel doing 270 km/h~170 mph, there’s your Autobahn oil burner….
Thanks Johannes. Never heard of Hartge.
Here’s an E21 Hartge. 240 hp for their most powerful E21, as mentioned above in the article.
Source of the picture and more info:
http://www.bmwe21.net/?page_id=360
Schweet. I remember reading about a yellow 911 that was the signature of one of these tuning houses. It had been so modified they were actually registered with the tuning house as the manufacturer. IIRC
I’m pretty sure that must have been a RUF. Registered as an automaker.
http://www.ruf-automobile.de/temp_en.html
That’s it. Cheers.
Down here in L.A., I occasionally used to see a grey Alpina B6 heading south on the 110 freeway as I drove home from work. Closer to home, here in Inglewood, I used to see a gray-market E21 323i parked in front of a discount furniture outlet near the corner of Crenshaw & Manchester. It was painted a weird metallic copper / rose color. It had a few small dents and a spotch of primer, but appeared in overall decent shape.
Bonus: many years ago, I used to see an early 80’s grey-market 745i turbo ( 733i with factory turbocharged engine ) sitting in the side lot of some dinky little independent garage near the corner of La Brea and San Vicente in west L.A. It was black on black, with matching period correct BBS wheels- black center with polished lip. The car just sat there for several years before it vanished.
I was tempted to ask the shop owners about it, but decided not to. I had neither the budget nor the patience to own any BMW, much less a rare grey market model.
In January of 2001 I bought my first and only BMW. It was/is a 1984 745i black on black with the “Executive” package. It was a one owner self imported car. It currently needs a turbo rebuild, complete exhaust system, and an a/c system overhaul. In the mean time it sits in my garage waiting for the funds to get these jobs done.
It’s a fun car to drive specially when the turbo kicks in. Did I mention turbo lag?
Alpinas are very rare birds around here. A few weeks ago there was an ad in CL for an E21 with all the Alpina bits except it was not an Alpina. A few years ago I saw what was adverised as an Alpina. It was a E24 M6 that had been modified by Hardy & Beck. Come to think of it all the “Alpinas” I have seen were NA imports modified by Hardy & Beck or Miller & Norburn. These two firms were the official Alpina representatives in the US.
Did they up grade the brakes on these special models? I remember that BMW had tiny solid rotors on their cars back then.
It’s interesting when people look at the E21 against its contemporary rivals now. In a contest of grip and dynamic poise, where would you place a 320i against an Alfetta 2000 and a FWD Lancia Beta Coupe?
According to this period comparison, the BMW comes off as a bit sub-par. At the limit, it will transition into oversteer rather than understeer like the other two, but those limits come at significantly slower speeds.
Here’s a direct quote: “Still, because it does answer the helm so well, and is so predictable, light and effortless to drive, the BMW is still enjoyable: it just now feels rather left behind”
https://www.flickr.com/photos/triggerscarstuff/sets/72157628703043647/
Not that I don’t think they’re effortlessly cool, but I definitely think some of BMWs current popularity rubs off on some of their not-so-dominant models.
I’d choose the Alfetta (saloon or coupe) but primarily because of the looks. Driving characteristics can be enhanced or adapted to a relative degree, but the BMW does lack that visual edge.
I think I chiefly hated the 320 simply because it attempted to replace the 2002. Not that I ever owned one; it just seemed that BMW could have done a better job. Which they did IMHO with the 325is.
I owned a Alpina B6 in 1986, bought it used, with some fire damage under the hood, fixed it and used it as a daily driver for about 6 months. Was a Alpina on the papers, not a BMW, even the badges all over the car said Alpina, and not BMW. Very nice car to drive,in the end sold/traded for a Mercedes 280S.
I have one(e21) 1976. I wante sell it any one wante buy?