There was once a time when turbocharged cars ruled the streets. By that I mean they were so much faster than anything else on the road that you couldn’t help but associate the term ‘Turbo’ with the best in any field. It was kind of like the ‘HD’ moniker we keep hearing these days if you will. However, back then, turbocharged cars were a rarity unlike today when every little wagon has a forced induction engine on it. That’s why today we’re taking a walk down memory lane and checking out two iconic Alpina models.
The brilliant tuner/manufacturer from Buchloe signed off on a number of crazy projects, one of the most daring being the Alpina B8 V8 model based on the E36 BMW 328i. The word ‘based’ is very loosely used here as the only thing that was taken from that car was the body. This was one of the few 3 Series model fitted with a V8 engine under the hood and ALPINA did a great job in that regard, using the 4-liter M60 engine from the E34 540i for it.
That wasn’t it though, as this wasn’t just a simple transplant of engines. The 4-liter mill was bored to 4.6-liters and made 333 HP and 470 Nm of torque. That allowed the B8 V8 to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 5.6 seconds and reach a top speed of about 280 km/h. Those figures were incredible for the 1990s by the way. That’s exactly what we get to see at work in the video below. But alongside it we’re also taking a look at a properly turbocharged E34 5 Series.
The ALPINA B10 Bi-Turbo was no less special. Based on the 535i it was the fastest production sedan in the world at the time of its launch. It used the BMW M30 engine but was heavily upgraded with two turbochargers, new pistons and a new ECU to make 360 HP and 520 Nm (384 lb-ft) of torque. It was a proper land rocket and it has the same claimed 0-100 km/h (62 mph) sprint time of 5.6 seconds as the B8 V8 but it will do 290 km/h flat out, making it faster than the E36. Now what you should remember is that the B10 was launched in 1989 and it was rivaling the Ferrari Testarossa in terms of performance, quite an achievement if you ask me.
