Alpina D3 (F30) | Spotted
Driving a really long way home for Christmas? Still nothing better for the job
Alpina diesels aren’t done just yet, that’s for certain. There’s currently still a lovely D3 S out there, as well as a D4, D5 and XD3. They’re still pretty fantastic, too - we called the most recent Alpina 3 Series Touring ‘the best and most desirable diesel-powered car you can buy period’. High praise indeed, and wholly justified.
But it feels like diesel could be half the price of petrol, twice as efficient and four times cleaner at the moment and it would remain out of favour. As legislators prevaricate on future fuels, so diesel sales continue to struggle. Certainly when Alpina becomes an integral part of the wider BMW empire, it’s hard to imagine many diesel cars (if any) featuring in the lineup. Given how good they have been and continue to be, that seems something of a shame, if a wholly predictable one.
Though not the first Alpina diesel, the F30 D3 era that launched a decade ago surely represented the very best of the breed. It had the undeniable appeal of a straight six, for starters; the four-cylinder D3s were interesting, and opened up Alpina to a broader audience, but they weren’t the same. For £5k on top of a 335d M Sport, D3 buyers were treated to more power and torque, of course, as well as a carefully revised chassis that brought the best out of a standard 3 Series that wasn’t quite the standard bearer many assumed it would be.
With suspension, steering and brake upgrades on top of the additional performance (plus, it should be noted now, hundreds of kilos less than a new 3 Series), the D3 was fantastic. It’s easy now to recall even fairly recent cars a little too fondly, but even in period these things were raved about: Autocar put it ahead of a contemporary M3 as an everyday sports saloon; yours truly suggested that an Alpina like this made ‘a compelling case for the ultimate do-it-all PH car’, complete with genuine 50mpg potential.
Perhaps a Touring would tick that box with even greater conviction, but it’s still hard not to swoon over a D3 saloon like this. One of the early F30s (the build plaque says it’s number 009), it’s perfectly specced in Imperial Blue with Oyster Dakota leather and the Alpina multispokes. It presents well, bar the inevitable kerbing on those glorious wheels and stone chips up front, with precious little wear inside despite almost 80k on the clock. If it’s been a motorway mile muncher, there really can’t have been anything better. The odo readout is supported by iDrive service records and receipts.
That a 10-year-old diesel 3 Series still commands £25k says a lot about how well-regarded these Alpinas are (and a bit about how strong used car prices remain). While 335ds are commonplace and will offer up a very good compact cruiser experience, there really is nothing to rival an Alpina - however it’s fuelled - for sports saloon supremacy. Don’t be surprised if that 78k tally rockets up very quickly indeed - this diesel will do very nicely indeed.
SPECIFICATION | ALPINA D3
Engine: 2,993cc straight-six, twin-turbocharged diesel
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic, rear-wheel drive
Power (hp): 350@4,000rpm
Torque (lb ft): 516@1,500-3,000rpm
0-62mph: 4.6 seconds
Top speed: 173mph
MPG: 53.3 (NEDC combined)
CO2: 139g/km
Year registered: 2013
Recorded mileage: 78,000
Price new: £46,950 (as standard, 2013)
Yours for: £24,475
Good value, but heavy on miles for me at that price
Re: Diesel ‘out of favour’ - it was, at one time - ‘the saviour’ of everything environmental w.r.t. transport…
Regulators are fickle & politically driven, EV, being the latest iteration of ‘what’s critical to transportation & the survival of the human race’…
Pivot not entirely unexpected, but ICE tech is already on the ‘phase out’ list…
Once it’s gone… it stays gone… PH could be a good medium for advocating on this point, you won’t - but you could
We'll never know, but I'd say the automotive industry had zero issues with regulators and politicians pushing diesel on them 15 years ago, and probably helped smooth through all the supporting taxation. Diesels often commanded higher prices than petrol, cost more to service and hoovered up the tax breaks, especially at fleet sales level. Unlike now, where all the big players are wondering how their bottom lines will cope with an EV future and are pushing back as a result.
You'd entirely and seemingly overly-aggressively dismiss a car entirely, based solely on a part easily replaced without the use of a single tool, even though it was possible an OE part, as per your post?
That aside, great car!
There's something about the Alpina way of doing things though. A significantly improved BMW, not just a quicker one. You could probably spend £10k less on a standard 335d, put £3k into it and get something that gives a very decent account of itself, but it just wouldn't have the exclusivity, or the presence.
I find myself wanting this more than anything BMW is churning out today.
That aside, great car!
That aside, great car!
My Alfa Romeo 166 Ti is entered into the Anglia Car Auction sale in January. It's a Cat D/N; while I was at Modern Classics magazine, an Audi used me and it as a brake (clearly its superior German braking engineering had left the building). It was written off as too expensive to repair, even if the damage was limited to the bumper.
As a total loss I got the car back from the insurer with the possible view of bringing it back to life via the magazine, but for mag cars (or at least for that particular magazine), the upkeep, purchase etc was firmly on the shoulders of the journalist. There were no 'mag' cars. So I sold it to some 166 obsessives for £400.
They repaired it, and it had two other owners in the meantime. I missed it – it may only have had the small 2.0-litre engine, but it loved to rev and the engine was far behind the front wheels, so it was like a very large hot hatch, so I bought it back.
Now, however, I have two actual Alfa hot hatches, plus two other cars I have access to. So I've decided to put it in ACA, noting what I thought was its insurance status.
Anyway, I got an email – apparently it's HPI clear, which is certainly news to me...
I think they're one of those dealers who tends to do their prep after the sale, if that's not a contradiction in terms.
As for the Cat D debate. I nearly bought a car recently that both Ebay and Motors.co.uk's 'car check' claimed was 'clear'. I did my own Hpi to find it was a write off. The dealer didn't declare it until pushed either. It certainly opened my eyes to not trusting those free systems.
Forums | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff