Now 3... Alpina B5 Touring, Ranger Wildtrak, SLK280

[Jules Sunley]

I have never posted in this section before, and am wondering are there rules about a thread per car or can we amalgamate?

Several have expressed an interest in a thread on my Alpina B5 Touring (2005 E61) previously (which I have owned since October 2019), but having picked up an old but immaculate Merc SLK280 last weekend as a fun car for all of us to enjoy (Me, the Mrs, and two stepdaughters) to add to my daily Ranger Wildtrak I wondered if I could create a thread covering them all?

Admin feel free to delete if not and I'll just do one on the Alpina.

That has been in winter hibernation from salty and wet potholed roads in my garage on the CTek but I plan to start using again soon. Pics of my current 3. The Mrs and the girls obvs have their own cars.

The B5 is all the car I think I ever need for acceleration thrills. 4.4V8 supercharged, official specs of 493bhp and 516lbft/700nM and can also be used for a Costco run with the big butt.

The Ranger I love for comfort. I drive a lot with work and it is comfy on the motorway and eats miles without giving me a bad back, deals with potholes well, and with a big garden and being a DIY fan is very useful at weekends and has saved me money and the hassle of skips for tip runs.

The SLK is for roof down fun but also being fairly cheap something I am happy to use year round regardless of the weather when I wouldn't want to use the B5. Also a bit of a present to myself having dropped a lot of timber in 2025 and now being able to fit in a small 2 seater.

Any questions just say, although I am expecting the B5 to be of the most interest.

[reefer110]

B5 Please

[Jules Sunley]

reefer110 said:

B5 Please

Lol, the expected response

I should have mentioned I am into my bikes too but didn't want to tangent this thread as I know there is a separate bikes section. I don't change bikes very often and now have what I feel to be my ideal 3 bikes all to be kept longer term.

KTM990SMT 2013 (orange of course, and the one I'm not worried about being caught in weather in. Did a loop of Devon and Cornwall on just before Covid. Owned the longest).

Suzuki Hayabusa 2002 (even after 34 years of riding bikes this still scares me a bit higher in the rev range). Bought from an engineer friend who does up bikes as a hobby and some lovely period upgrades like Yoshi pipes.

Kawasaki ZXR750 1992 (identical to my first 'big bike' back in the day, and almost mint). Nostalgia to ride, but also imho aching pretty to look at (often referred to in biking circles as the one with the 'hoover hoses').

Bikes are relevant though as they started off my love of engines and once you have had a fast bike you tend to find normal cars slow so want faster cars.....like a B5...

[Quhet]

More pics of the B5 please! What sort of mileage do you do?

[danb79]

The threads fine as it is Jules; plenty of folks on here with numerous cars on one thread etc

But sorry to stick with the trend, the B5 is very much of interest, more so that the E60 and E61s have just gotten better with age, and like the E63s of that Bangle era, they look so well now

[Jules Sunley]

Quhet said:

More pics of the B5 please! What sort of mileage do you do?

About 2k a year average. Buying just before Covid hit wasn't ideal. Still to sort a Germany trip to the Autobahn that my father will accompany me on. Here's some more pics.

Edited by Jules Sunley on Monday 23 February 17:23

[Jules Sunley]

Previous owner had engine out and back to Alpina for a rebuild at 88k so very healthy. A big history file of receipts came with it.

[Jules Sunley]

danb79 said:

The threads fine as it is Jules; plenty of folks on here with numerous cars on one thread etc

But sorry to stick with the trend, the B5 is very much of interest, more so that the E60 and E61s have just gotten better with age, and like the E63s of that Bangle era, they look so well now

Thanks Dan

[sixor8]

Reminds me of looking at a car's speedometer as a child to judge how fast it might be. It goes up to 200 mph.

My TVR Cerbera speedo only went up to 180, not that I ever got near it, even abroad.

[Jules Sunley]

sixor8 said:

Reminds me of looking at a car's speedometer as a child to judge how fast it might be. It goes up to 200 mph.

My TVR Cerbera speedo only went up to 180, not that I ever got near it, even abroad.

The official stats are 193mph top speed (no limiter) and 4.5 seconds to 60 (rear wheel drive limitation, the newer ones were 4wd). Roll on is mental though with the supercharger type spinning up very freely and not sapping power like some other ones do. Some owners have had 200mph as Alpina was known to be a little conservative in the interests of the Health and Safety brigade. My aim when I do get to Germany is to hit 300kph as a nice round number if possible which equates to 186mph. Subject to a clear run of autobahn and decent weather etc. I know the previous owner 'exercised her' over there so it won't be the first time

I bet the Cerbera sounds epic at speed. Always admired TVRs but never had a ride in one as yet.

[Mad Maximus]

That’s a very nice mix of vehicles. I approve.

[Jules Sunley]

Mad Maximus said:

That s a very nice mix of vehicles. I approve.

Cheers!