Have a gaze...

FiestaST

Honorary Master
Joined
Aug 9, 2009
Messages
213,134
Reaction score
96,614
Location
CPT~ /\\/¯¯¯\\/\\ ~ZA
What a looker!

Gaze at this achingly desirable Alpina B12 5.7 Coupe

For $350k, you can have one of Earth's coolest motors

What would you do if someone handed you €350,000 and told you to buy anything you wanted? Right now, we can’t think of anything we’d rather spend our money on than this biblically-gorgeous BMW Alpina B12 5.7 Coupe. In fact, we’ve already started our hunt for lamps to rub and genies to awaken.

The B12 Coupe started life as an already-cool BMW 850CSi, but Alpina decided to bore the 5.6-litre V12 out to 5.7-litres before fitting a modified intake, crankshaft, camshaft and stainless-steel exhaust system. As a result, power jumped from 375bhp to 410bhp and torque sat at a nice round 420lb ft.

Rumour has it that Alpina was suitably impressed with BMW Motorsport’s work on the standard 850, so not too much else was altered mechanically. The brakes were left as standard and only the front springs were changed in the suspension setup. There was, however, the option of either a six-speed Getrag manual or a new Alpina-developed Shift-Tronic auto gearbox. The fact that the estimate for this particular 1993 B12 is between €300,000 - €350,000 should tell you that it’s a manual.

That estimate also alludes to the condition this thing is in. That Alpina Blue paintwork with gold detailing is stunning, as are the 18-inch wheels and the fabulously-retro, leather-filled interior. There’s also only 9,000km on the clock. Criminal.

It’ll go under the hammer at the RM Sotheby’s Paris sale in early February, and all you need to remember is V12, manual gearbox, 57 built, pop-up headlights, Alpina alloys, gold pinstriping, that interior…


Alpina B12 1.jpgAlpina B12 2.jpgAlpina B12 3.jpgAlpina B12 4.jpgAlpina B12 5.jpgAlpina B12 6.jpgAlpina B12 7.jpgAlpina B12 8.jpgAlpina B12 9.jpgAlpina B12 10.jpg
 
D3Pv5lrWsAEQhG1.jpg
 
Adding this to my "gaze list":

Look at this classic old Merc 190 Evo II as it turns 30

A DTM car for the road became a reality with the 1990 unveil of the mega-winged 190

Even Mercedes describes the wing as ‘mighty’. You’ll no doubt describe it as ‘bloody excellent’, and so you should immediately. The Mercedes 190 Evo II turns 30 this year, and it is a chance for us all to gaze upon its ‘mighty’ wing once more.

Launched at the 1990 Geneva Motor Show, the Evo II – basically a DTM car for the road – featured more power over its predecessor, thanks to a raft of complicated engine upgrades which we shan’t bore you with (though, it did in fact have larger bores over the previous Evo I four-pot).

In total, 230bhp was achievable from that M102 2.5-litre four cylinder, with an increased rev limit of 7,700rpm. Interestingly, that four-cylinder was capable of quite a bit more, because Mercedes said these road car engines were actually carried over into the real, racing DTM 190s, with power upped to 370bhp.


d90f163.jpgd90f180.jpgd90f166.jpgd90f160.jpga90f1009.jpga90f1012.jpga90f1120.jpga90f182.jpga90f185.jpg2008dig5733.jpg
 
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X