RE: Alpina B12 coupe: Spotted

[JohnGoodridge]

Not sure why the link has to be tenuous. BMW had a big 25th birthday bash for the 8 series only a month ago, thought that would have made a good connection.

As to the B12 - that's lovely. And with a 6sp manual that must be super rare (w/out considering the provenance).

Only problem is, the mileage I would want to put on it would inevitably reduce its value significantly.

[Duffman83]

I know V12 8 series cost a lot of money to run,

But when the Sultan and Sir Anthony Bamford cant afford to run one of these, I would maybe look at something cheaper! ;-)

[3795mpower]

TEKNOPUG said:

Ropey 840s go for £4-5k, ropey E39 M5's go for £4-5k...............................




How hard can it be?

I stumbled on a pair of E31's last week fitted with S38 motors (thats 6 pot M5)
So circa 340hp.
Enough to make it interesting.

Shame the 8 series had a little too much weight on it's side to blunt performance.

[Evo]

Duffman83 said:

I know V12 8 series cost a lot of money to run,

But when the Sultan and Sir Anthony Bamford cant afford to run one of these, I would maybe look at something cheaper! ;-)

I doubt they were sold because they couldn't afford to run them do you know who the Sultan of Brunei is then

[bozzy101]

A few people have mentioned the weight of these being quite high so blunting performance. What is the weight? Is it high by modern standards?

[carinaman]

Interesting.

[Lost soul]

bozzy101 said:

A few people have mentioned the weight of these being quite high so blunting performance. What is the weight? Is it high by modern standards?

850i is 1975kg

[Gixer_fan]

Would be a brave investment at circa £80K. Are they an ultimate driving machine?? I'd go with a 928 for 15-20% of that price.

[pSyCoSiS]

That's an epic car and utterly rare with that spec and mileage.

I have been looking at 8 Series for a while now, and it's on my list of cars to own in the very near future.

Prices vary from anything around £2k to £20k+.

A relatively decent 840ci Sport Individual can be hard for around the £6k mark.

Still a car that will turn heads wherever it goes, and whilst it's not an all-out sports car, it's a superb GT cruiser.

Edited by pSyCoSiS on Tuesday 8th July 14:50

[soad]

Beast!

[Duffman83]

Evo said:

Duffman83 said:

I know V12 8 series cost a lot of money to run,

But when the Sultan and Sir Anthony Bamford cant afford to run one of these, I would maybe look at something cheaper! ;-)

I doubt they were sold because they couldn't afford to run them do you know who the Sultan of Brunei is then

Yeah some well dodgy bloke that sells loads of cars that are unregistered with only 1k miles on the clock. Sounds like a Proper Del Boy.... ;-)

[E24man]

The weight of the E31, any E31, is its achilles heel; the 850CSi and this B12 5.7 only just break beneath 6 secs to sixty, with an 850i manual, the B12 5.0 auto and the M62 engined 840Ci breaking just below 7 seconds. Once moving the B12's and 850CSi are quite formidable with a nice youtube vid of an de-restricted 850CSi hitting 300km/h, over 180mph.

Compare the nearly two tonnes of the E31 with the 1470kg of the M635CSi that preceded it.

[Bobdenero]

Seem to remember a manual M850 being advertised a couple years back which had a 5.6 V12, 380 bhp and looked great in black with a deep front spoiler for around £13k, given some of the comments on present values then I am guessing that whoever bought it got a good deal

[g3org3y]

Nice.

Always been tempted by the looks of the 8 Series, however potential big bills really put me off.

[Liquid Tuna]

E24man said:

Compare the nearly two tonnes of the E31 with the 1470kg of the M635CSi that preceded it.

Where did all the weight come from? I assume they're years apart in crash protection and all that jazz?

[f1ten]

Stunning looking rare car but anythingnover 30k is too much for that car. They won't go up valuen for at least 10 yrs and 6k, miles means you can't drive it or you kill the appeal

[GTRene]

and this one would be even better, shame there is only one...

said:

And the M boys delivered one variant of the S70 V12 from the McLaren F1. That was the problem with the M8. There was only one. Uno. Ein. A single prototype was made. There are few details about the M8 and what exactly it could do. Most rumors suggest five hundred and fifty horsepower, rear wheel or all wheel drive with all wheel steering, massive weight reductions (the same kind that would show up several years later on the E46 M3 CSL), carbon fiber body panels, and a top speed near the 200 mph range.

http://carsandcranks.com/?p=577

video under the hood etc>

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znrARdv3F_0

[Mermaid]

Gixer_fan said:

Would be a brave investment at circa £80K. Are they an ultimate driving machine?? I'd go with a 928 for 15-20% of that price.

Illiquid market - not convinced it is a good investment.

For a BMW fanboy with lots of cash and who has all the other desirable BMW's.

It is not a lightweight car, no racing history.

[Escy]

I also don't think it would be a good investment. As nice as they are, the 8 series always was and will be (relatively) undesirable.

[Reardy Mister]

8 series undesirable? Are you mad?

Interested to hear they considered the brakes up to scratch, I found them woeful on any of the 8s I've driven. My favourite was DEFINITELY an 850CSI manual though (in black with Alpina wheels). Select second and light up the massive rear boots with ease and an amazing yowl from the V12. It felt like an engine that could reverse the earth's rotation to an 18 yr old car valeter.