Searching for superfast transport to your next break in Monte Carlo? Look no further. Alpina’s take on BMW’s 1990s 8-Series coupé is exactly the leather-lined companion you need for a trans-continental blast. And when you draw up at the casino, you can be sure that - among the mere Lamborghinis and Ferraris - yours will be the rarest V12 there. Just 97 of these E31 model era B12s were made, and only five were right hand drive. Just be prepared to explain how it both is and isn’t a BMW.
Alpina are the BMW modifiers that deliberately produce just a few of each of their reimagined Munich offspring. Formed as a family owned company, Alpina’s renaming of each BMW is just the outward sign of significant changes to turn - in this case - a luxury coupé into something akin to a supercar. BMW now own Alpina, but the Granite Silver Metallic B12 5.0 you see here is very much from Alpina’s independent era, when the company did exactly what it wanted to. With really quite extraordinary results.
Every Alpina transformation eschews fashion. Function rules. Just about the only cosmetic items are Alpina’s signature side-stripe and badging front and rear. Aficionados will notice Alpina’s turbine style alloy wheels: super lightweight and much wider than the standard items, giving BMW’s luxury cruiser the stance of a refined bruiser. Likewise the bodykit, which adds to the understated aggression, while contributing aerodynamically to your pace towards Monaco.
Naturally, BMW’s mighty V12 wasn’t mighty enough. A range of modifications - high performance Mahle pistons, recalibrated Bosch electronics, unique cylinder heads, bespoke stainless steel exhaust system - earns the Alpina name on the cam covers. Alpina’s heritage after all includes winning the European Touring Car Championships. Result is Ferrari-rivalling performance, with all the smoothness you’d expect from a four-speed ZF automatic transmission. Suspension modifications take care of high-speed corners.
Pillarless design is pure 1990s deluxe. Hand-trimmed black leather to interior is as new. Alpina steering wheel is clutter-free, the company’s instrument binnacle is again unique. BMW Bavaria sound system is top of the range with that most 1990s of luxuries - a CD changer - nestling in the boot, itself more than big enough for several of your favourite Louis Vuitton bags.
Of course you could decide that your transport for the current 1990s revival might be the base car for this Alpina: a BMW 8-Series, and there’s no shame in that. After all even a V12 example can be yours for around £30,000. But it’ll just be a BMW, off the production line like all the others. An Alpina B12 5.0, uniquely tuned and appointed, is a labour of love, hand-crafted and near-bespoke. The 1991 Alpina B12 5.0 that you see here is happily available for your garage and those essential casino jaunts, through Fast Classics. Is £139,995 expensive? You can always make the cash back at the roulette table. We’d be happy to monitor your progress.
Next up: Take a look back at 50 years of BMW Art Cars.
