New Member w/potential unicorn car
New Member w/potential unicorn car
Greetings all! Long time enthusiast here, always have been interested in the Alpina cars however never had the opportunity to add one to my lineup until now! I'm just wrapping up a deal on what's apparently an unusual and not well known Alpina, an '81 E23 Alpina B9 3.5. According to records and letters from Alpina, there were only about 20 of these that exist. This one has been meticulously restored and has been making the rounds at shows and events here in the US.
I'm looking forward to soaking up the knowledge and learning all about the Alpina history and brand here on the board! From discussions I've read and seen about this particular car, there's confusion about authenticity as well as some of the particular add ons, for example the original owner specifically chose not to have the pinstriping installed. I'd love to hear more from the experts here about these, or anything you know about this particular one. It was just recently offered on BAT as well, there's tons of documentation loaded up on there.
I'm looking forward to soaking up the knowledge and learning all about the Alpina history and brand here on the board! From discussions I've read and seen about this particular car, there's confusion about authenticity as well as some of the particular add ons, for example the original owner specifically chose not to have the pinstriping installed. I'd love to hear more from the experts here about these, or anything you know about this particular one. It was just recently offered on BAT as well, there's tons of documentation loaded up on there.
Proud Owner of:
'71 2002
'99 M3
'06 Dinan S3 M5
'81 E23 Alpina B9?
'71 2002
'99 M3
'06 Dinan S3 M5
'81 E23 Alpina B9?
- greenelekta
- ALPINA
- Posts: 1233
- Joined: Fri Apr 27, 2012 9:36 am
Re: New Member w/potential unicorn car
E39 B10 V8S Touring Brass Metallic
Z3 M Coupe Dakar Yellow
Z4 Monaco Blue
SLK55 AMG Silver
Maserati Gransport Alfieri Grigio
Z3 M Coupe Dakar Yellow
Z4 Monaco Blue
SLK55 AMG Silver
Maserati Gransport Alfieri Grigio
Re: New Member w/potential unicorn car
e23 Alpina's are my bag, what do you want to know?
Former BMW CC 7 register chairman
2000 e39 B10 V8 Touring
1985 e23 B10 (sold)
1995 B3 saloon switchtronic (sold)
2000 e39 B10 V8 Touring
1985 e23 B10 (sold)
1995 B3 saloon switchtronic (sold)
Re: New Member w/potential unicorn car
I'm sure there will be other questions as I enjoy this car, one of the things I'm considering is adding the pinstriping that the original owner for some reason decided not to add. Is there a reference for what the typical pinstripe style/color would be on an Ascotgrau-metallic exterior car? Thanks!
Proud Owner of:
'71 2002
'99 M3
'06 Dinan S3 M5
'81 E23 Alpina B9?
'71 2002
'99 M3
'06 Dinan S3 M5
'81 E23 Alpina B9?
-
- ALPINA
- Posts: 1225
- Joined: Fri Sep 11, 2020 3:40 pm
- Location: Shropshire
Re: New Member w/potential unicorn car
That is super nice - congratulations!
Paul
2013 F11 B5 BiTurbo Touring #135 - Alpina Blue
2017 F33 B4S BiTurbo Cabrio #235 - Tanzanite Blue
2013 F11 B5 BiTurbo Touring #135 - Alpina Blue
2017 F33 B4S BiTurbo Cabrio #235 - Tanzanite Blue
Re: New Member w/potential unicorn car
To be fair, the e23 is the lost Alpina from the range as many didn't realise it had been available, but despite the low numbers sold they were a a steady seller. They do appear in Europe for sale from time to time.
But deko kits. Like the original lower front spoilers (& this one is sporting a BBS unit), the pin stripe or deko kit was a delete option so many were in fact deleted when new. You'll find very few B9's and B10 e23's with the deko kits fitted although to be fair the later B10's were of a finer detail to the B9's.
The earlier cars would have had the larger thick garish deko kits which were ok for the smaller 3's but for the 7 not so considering these were aimed at wealthy successful business men who liked to keep a low key. The finer kit that started to filter in around late 81 early 82 would look good on it though BUT saying that, chances are its original as it stands so I'd think twice about putting one on. If you did, then silver or a light grey would have been the choice. They didn't have many choices in the early 80's, silver-grey and gold.
I think I know this car from old and recall speaking to the owner at the time (so 10 years back) although if its the same it was running black arch trims which fitted in well with the Ascot Grau paint at the time.
Regards numbers, the numbers you quote will be Buchloe built cars but we do have one here in the UK that last time I looked was slowly dissolving into the concrete hardstanding it was sitting on. The problem with the B9 is it's based on the 728i and runs a piggy back ECU systems, if these fail you just can't get hold of that ECU anymore.
But deko kits. Like the original lower front spoilers (& this one is sporting a BBS unit), the pin stripe or deko kit was a delete option so many were in fact deleted when new. You'll find very few B9's and B10 e23's with the deko kits fitted although to be fair the later B10's were of a finer detail to the B9's.
The earlier cars would have had the larger thick garish deko kits which were ok for the smaller 3's but for the 7 not so considering these were aimed at wealthy successful business men who liked to keep a low key. The finer kit that started to filter in around late 81 early 82 would look good on it though BUT saying that, chances are its original as it stands so I'd think twice about putting one on. If you did, then silver or a light grey would have been the choice. They didn't have many choices in the early 80's, silver-grey and gold.
I think I know this car from old and recall speaking to the owner at the time (so 10 years back) although if its the same it was running black arch trims which fitted in well with the Ascot Grau paint at the time.
Regards numbers, the numbers you quote will be Buchloe built cars but we do have one here in the UK that last time I looked was slowly dissolving into the concrete hardstanding it was sitting on. The problem with the B9 is it's based on the 728i and runs a piggy back ECU systems, if these fail you just can't get hold of that ECU anymore.
Former BMW CC 7 register chairman
2000 e39 B10 V8 Touring
1985 e23 B10 (sold)
1995 B3 saloon switchtronic (sold)
2000 e39 B10 V8 Touring
1985 e23 B10 (sold)
1995 B3 saloon switchtronic (sold)
Re: New Member w/potential unicorn car
Volvo XC90 T6 Inscription Pro. 2018.
Honda S2000. 2003. SOLD
F31 MSport+ 335D XDrive. 2014. SOLD
No. 097. D3BT Saloon 2010. Manual. Black Sapphire. SOLD
No. 389. D3MT Saloon 2007. Manual. Black Sapphire. SOLD
Honda S2000. 2003. SOLD
F31 MSport+ 335D XDrive. 2014. SOLD
No. 097. D3BT Saloon 2010. Manual. Black Sapphire. SOLD
No. 389. D3MT Saloon 2007. Manual. Black Sapphire. SOLD