70-mile Alpina B3 GT3 | Spotted

Love an M3 GTS, but need less orange? Remember Alpina did a very special E92 as well...

As was hopefully made abundantly clear in the recent twin test, it’s very easy to enjoy driving a BMW M3 GTS a great deal. It’s a truly incredible machine, M Division at its very best. But there’s certainly no escaping the fact that it’s pretty full on, with the bucket seats, the cage, and the orange.

So what to do if you want a motorsport-influenced E92 3 Series that isn’t a GTS? Well, believe it or not, there is an alternative in that very tiny niche, and it’s called the Alpina B3 GT3. It was built to mark the success of Alpina’s B6 GT3 in the German ADAC GT Masters in 2011; while it was less powerful than the GTS, it was even rarer, with just 99 ever produced. This example is one of just a handful - maybe as few as just five - in right-hand drive.

As would be expected of Alpina, the GT3 was a proper job, no mere cash-in on motorsport success. Over the standard B3 there were adjustable coilovers - just like the GTS, in fact - with tweakable ride height as well as 12 clicks in compression and 18 in rebound. That modification set out the GT3’s stall pretty emphatically, and it continued from there: new forged Alpina Classics were 25 per cent lighter, six-piston calipers up front clamped 380mm brakes (just like you know what), Recaro seats were fitted and a carbon aerokit of modest dive planes, front splitter and rear wing was included. A Drexler LSD was standard.

The crucial difference between GT3 and GTS, of course, was under the bonnet, with the Alpina built from a 335i rather than an M3. So it didn’t get the M arches or the epic V8, instead making do with the narrow body and less thrilling N54 turbo straight-six. A ZF auto was slightly at odds with the GT3 billing, too, where the DCT was perfect for the GTS.

So it made for a slightly strange experience, feeling both like an Alpina and a wannabe road racer at the same time without ever committing to one camp. Still, a mixed messages kind of Alpina was still pretty great - Autocar reckoned it was the best-handling 3 Series of the era - and going without the V8 meant 30mpg was possible.

With such rarity and provenance, any B3 GT3 is a very significant Alpina. It wouldn’t be a surprise if interest in the old Buchloe bruisers has increased of late with the BMW takeover. What makes this one especially interesting is the fact that it’s covered just 70 miles since 2012, making it effectively brand new almost a decade and a half later. Furthermore, while £90k is a lot for any kind of E92, adjusted for inflation it’s actually less than was asked new. £67k in 2012 is £100,000 these days, so call this a nearly new bargain, PH-style. Still less than a GTS is going to cost, too…

SPECIFICATION | ALPINA B3 GT3

Engine: 2,979cc, turbocharged straight-six
Transmission: 6-speed automatic, rear-wheel drive, limited-slip differential
Power (hp): 407@6,000rpm
Torque (lb ft): 398@4,500rpm
MPG: 29.4
CO2: 224g/km
First registered: 2012
Recorded mileage: 70
Price new: £66,950
Yours for: £89,995

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birdcage

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