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Easter Egg: 1988 Alpina B6 3.5S

While I’m certainly not a particularly religious person, it’s hard not to accept the joy of an Easter egg hunt witnessed through the eyes of a child. Even in these trying times, its some semblance of normality lacking in the rest of our existence. But limiting such an egg hunt to children only seems unfair. And our reader John supplied us with quite the egg find today!

This purple Porsche eater comes from the hallowed halls of Buchloe and the storied company of Alpina. Normally Alpina takes ‘ordinary’ BMWs and transforms them in extraordinary performance machines. But in one case, they took a very special BMW and made it very….specialerer. Such is the case with the B6 3.5S. The 3.5S took all of the important bits of that made the 3.5 very unique and stuck them into an M3 chassis. That meant upgraded brakes, heavy-duty front springs, and the signature Alpina wheels coupled with the 3.5-liter M30 with high compression pistons, a special head and cam, and Alpina exhaust resulting in 254 horsepower. While just 219 B6s were produced, only 62 B6Ss were made. And this one is Daytona Violet!

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1988 Alpina B6 3.5S on Classic Auto Restor


Year: 1988
Model: B6 3.5S
VIN: N/A
Engine: 3.5 liter inline-6
Transmission: 5-speed manual
Mileage: Not listed
Location: Vars, France
Price: E. 138,000 (~$151,000 today)

year
1988
M3 E30 Alpina B6 3.5 S

Characteristics

Alpina B6 3.5 S 261 PS (1988- ›1990) Technical Specifications and performance figures
Characteristics Alpina B6 3.5 SF
Front longitudinal engine: 6 cylinders in line 3430 cm³ 12 single-point injection valves
Maximum power: 261 hp (192 kW) at 6000 rpm (Max speed 6500 rpm)
Max Torque: 346 Nm (35.3 mkg) at 4000 rpm (~ 197 hp)
Ratios: 76 hp / L (56 kW / L) – 101 Nm / L
Transmission: Propulsion + self-locking
5-speed manual gearbox
Tires: 225/45/16
Front brakes: Ventilated discs
Rear brakes: Solid discs
Dimensions: 4346 x 1680 x 1424 mm
Wheelbase: 2562 mm – Tracks: AV 1424 mm / AR 1445 mm
Weight advertised: 1270 kg (DIN) 1345 kg (EU)
EU weight in operation: 1395 kg (highest measured)
Weight / Power ratio: 5.3 kg / PS = 138 kW / T = 187 PS / T
Torque / Weight ratio: 248 Nm / T
Normalized mixed consumption: 11.5 L / 100 – sports: 17 L / 100
Tax power: 20 hp
Launching year 1988, 1989, 1990 end of production
Other technical engine information:
Torque reserve ˜ 13%
Specific power ˜ 0.4 kW / cm²
Total bore area ˜ 398.8 cm²
Mean effective pressure ˜ 11.9 bars
Average piston speed ˜ 17.2 m / s
Engine optimization ˜ 69%

Alpina B6 3.5 S 261 PS (1988- ›1990) Technical Specifications and performance figures
Characteristics Alpina B6 3.5 SF
Front longitudinal engine: 6 cylinders in line 3430 cm³ 12 single-point injection valves
Maximum power: 261 hp (192 kW) at 6000 rpm (Max speed 6500 rpm)
Max Torque: 346 Nm (35.3 mkg) at 4000 rpm (~ 197 hp)
Ratios: 76 hp / L (56 kW / L) – 101 Nm / L
Transmission: Propulsion + self-locking
5-speed manual gearbox
Tires: 225/45/16
Front brakes: Ventilated discs
Rear brakes: Solid discs
Dimensions: 4346 x 1680 x 1424 mm
Wheelbase: 2562 mm – Tracks: AV 1424 mm / AR 1445 mm
Weight advertised: 1270 kg (DIN) 1345 kg (EU)
EU weight in operation: 1395 kg (highest measured)
Weight / Power ratio: 5.3 kg / PS = 138 kW / T = 187 PS / T
Torque / Weight ratio: 248 Nm / T
Normalized mixed consumption: 11.5 L / 100 – sports: 17 L / 100
Tax power: 20 hp
Launching year 1988, 1989, 1990 end of production
Other technical engine information:
Torque reserve ˜ 13%
Specific power ˜ 0.4 kW / cm²
Total bore area ˜ 398.8 cm²
Mean effective pressure ˜ 11.9 bars
Average piston speed ˜ 17.2 m / s
Engine optimization ˜ 69%

So is it real? It certainly appears to have the correct characteristics, but the VIN isn’t listed and I can’t see the plaque up close. Still, they claim it’s number 14 in the ad. Sure enoughNumber 14 appears in the archives. Great! And it’s Daytona Violet in the pictures! Double great! But then there IS a problem from a collector standpoint; the car was originally Zinnoberrot, not Daytona – which would make sense since I don’t think the color was around in ’88. So was it crashed? Repainted for personal preference? Who knows. The wheels also don’t appear to be original to the car as they were changed in the photo, but as long as they’re real Alpina wheels I’m not sure that matters a lot. Other details? It’s not in perfect condition, no mileage is listed, and no mechanical health displayed. It also looks lower than stock. But if you’re serious, you’d be doing a PPI anyway, and let’s be honest, it’s hanging out in the Alps, so you’re making a huge commitment to get there.

And it’ll cost you more than the plane journey. $151,000 is a lot of coin, without doubt. Where does it fall in the range of classic BMWs? Amazingly, not too badly. As we’ve covered recently, asks on pristine E31 850CSis and M3 Lightweights are in the stratosphere as well. Would I rather have this car? Probably, even if it isn’t perfect.

Thanks to our reader John for the spot, and Happy Easter, Passover, Ramadan, Rama Navami, or just car hunting to you all! Thanks for following

-Carter

6 Comments

  1. michael blechman
    michael blechman April 12, 2020

    this ticks all the right boxes, smaller, lighter, much more power, better suspension, rarer than air, painted tart color, massive cost, far away requiring travel during a plague… what’s not too like?
    this reminds me of Bill Arnold’s Bavaria Targa Newfoundland winner… engineered to win with and appearing fairly normal until the loud pedal is engaged then disappearing rather convincingly able to show what it’s there to do… an ultimate driving machine for sure…
    whether this piece of kit justifies the effort and dosh to own depends on what the Alpina plaque is worth to someone, as this build certainly may be had for less and made of newer parts…

    bon chance mis amies…

  2. Ricky Weston
    Ricky Weston April 12, 2020

    Sorry if this sounds ignorant, but can you explain what “Bill Arnold’s Bavaria Targa Newfoundland winner” is? Never heard of him before, and I don’t know what the Targa Newfoundland is? Is that a car?

  3. michael blechman
    michael blechman April 13, 2020

    Ricky, There are numerous search engines on the interwebs providing copious information with the ease of just inputing the request… however, Bill Arnold owns and operates a BMW repair service located in San Rafael Ca. doing expert duty for BMW cars…
    The Targa Newfoundland Rally: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Targa_Newfoundland has been won by Bill three times, 2003, 02, 05 driving his 1973 Bavaria, prepared at his shop…

    The Targa Newfoundland is not a car…

  4. Ricky Weston
    Ricky Weston April 13, 2020

    Thanks! I just wasn’t understanding the way you wrote it–it was a long day.

    Too bad BMW didn’t go with something along these lines with the E30 M3. I can imagine this is a lot more fun than the anemic 4 cylinder. I’ve never seen one of these come up for sale before.

  5. jchouston
    jchouston April 14, 2020

    Always nice to know that grown men can resort to lame sarcasm when asked a sincere question. Good job, Michael Blechman.

  6. michael blechman
    michael blechman April 14, 2020

    Dear Adult Person jchouston, Thank you for your endorsement of my “Good job” however there was no intent on my part to demean or otherwise imply Mr, Ricky Weston is in any way incapable…
    I do apologize to Mr. Weston, as he remarks these are long days for all of us…
    Please continue to correct me at any time you feel my “lame sarcasm” disturbs you..
    Cheers mate… M

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