Here is an awesome car, that sold on eBay recently for $20,100. Some say it went for far too little.
What makes a 27 year old car worth that as much or more than the average BMW e28 sold new? The primary factor for this particular car is that was re-made in very limited numbers by the legendary tuner Alpina. This car is one of only 236 similar cars that rolled out of Alpina’s doors in that model year. Alpina started out with an M30-powered e28 533i, added a turbocharger, their own custom-designed intercooler, intake & fuel-injection system, lots of suspension goodies, some beautiful & lightweight wheels, and finished it off with some very nice interior modifications. One very cool feature is the ability to adjust the turbo’s boost on the fly by way of a knob mounted next to the parking brake handle.
When properly cranked, that little knob on the console can make the turbo bump the base M30’s 180hp output to the neighborhood of 300hp, making some beautiful music along the way. The driver is able to keep tabs on the amount of boost, and other engine stats, by way of a cool-for-its-day LED gauge cluster fitted in place of one of the center dash vents. One needs to brush up on one’s German first!
A recent article in Hemmings Sports & Exotic Car magazine featured a 1985 Alpina B7 Turbo in Agate Green a 1988 M5, but the article gave me a renewed appreciation for the work Alpina did with the e28; while the M5 is a great car in its own right, the Alpina is a head above that, especially in the push-your-butt-into-the-seat department. The real kicker of that article is that both cars are owned by Ron Wicklund, who is one of the members of my most most recent web obsession — MyE28.com. The cars could not be in better hands, as Ron is meticulous in his care for them and masterful in driving them fast.
Last month Roy stirred up a bit of envy on the board by posting this photo of his garage after tucking his toys in for the winter… Talk about a dream garage! The Alpina is on the right, and the M5 is on the left — love that license plate on the front! Under the orange cover on the left is his highly modified, highly orange, M3-powered 2002tii, which was also featured in a recent Hemmings Sports & Exotic (that car is in line for a BMWotD post very soon.) Next to that is a relatively ho-hum M535i (drool!) and on the far right is an e36 M3. And between the M535i & the M3 is the odd man out, an Acura NSX. Some guys have all the luck! Roy sounds like a gem of a guy; very down to earth, loves his old BMWs and loves to drive them fast, especially on the track. From what I hear, he’s a terror on the track, especially in that M5; the license plate is a very apt description of what he’s likely thinking while riding the bumper of a slower car! And word has it that he’s selling the M5!
When I grow up, I want to be Roy Wicklund.
Here are the rest of the photos and the guts of the eBay ad for the ’84 Alpina, just for drools.
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