I’m sure I’ve mentioned this before but I owned an E36 BMW 3 Series for almost ten years. It was my baby. It was messy and imperfect and gave mw w new headache about twice a week but I loved it. When it finally left my driveway, I shed a tear. Despite them being frustrating to keep up and maintain, I want another. Now, though, I don’t just want any other E36 3 Series, I want an ALPINA B3.
My interest in the ALPINA B3 was recently piqued by this Bring-A-Trailer auction, where one recently sold for $27,000. I knew ALPINA had made cars from the E36 3 Series but I had never really looked at them before. After seeing this one, I’m smitten. It’s a fantastic looking car and one that I genuinely feel as if I need.
This specific one is wearing the classic ALPINA blue paint and gold livery, with a large fixed rear wing and black interior with blue seat inserts. It’s bright, loud and outlandish and I absolutely adore it. Firstly, can we all just appreciate the simplistic beauty of the E36? Those boxy headlights and grilles, its near-perfect stance and perfectly square little taillights? It’s delightful. On the classic ALPINA wheels, it’s sensational looking.
Under the hood of the E36 ALPINA B3 was a modified version of BMW’s 3.0 liter inline-six engine and it made 250 hp and 236 lb-ft of torque, which, for a naturally-aspirated 3.0 liter I6, was actually really good for its time. That engine was paired with a five-speed manual and sent power to a limited-slip rear diff.
I’ve long wanted another E36 but didn’t want to just get a standard one. So the E36 M3 was a naturally progression, however, the American-spec E36 M3 was a bit underwhelming thanks to getting a worse engine than the Euro model. And importing one is difficult and expensive and probably not worth the headache for an E36 M3. However, something as special and as rare as the ALPINA B3 would, indeed, be worth importing. I want one badly. Now I just need to come up with that sort of money. How much are kidneys worth these days?
[Source: Bring-A-Trailer]
