Wildest Dream – Performance Car
The headlights were a mile away and downwind. Nothing happened for some time, and then they flashed, as if flicking from dip to high beam. In fact the car was leaving the start line at 5000rpm, in this case at least, the perfect ‘stepping-off’ point. A few seconds later the quoted factory figures tumbled in a flurry of gearchanges. Because of the wind, it was impossible to hear the sound of the engine until the car was fully halfway down the strip towards us. When it did come it was intoxicating; the straining, raucous, blast of a big straight-six at full chat. It was beginning to look as though the West German manufacturer Aplina, with the latest in their long line of re-born BMWs, had got away with gliding the lily once again. The B6 3.5S, and M3 fitted with modified 3.5litre engine, was making a mockery of conventional performance figures and proving, decisively, to be more than just another ‘special’.
Rarely does a car come along with creates quite as much excitement as the BMW M3. Not only was it the first 3-Series genuinely to nudge the upperechelons of high performance, but it was a four-cylinder 3-Series at that.
For the M3, BMW discarded the strict observance to the self-imposed six-cylinder rule that had served them for so long. Instead they settled for an engine based around a similar block that on the one hand propels lesser 1.6 and 1.8litre cars and yet on the other, in turbocharged guise, formed the basis for their own Formula One engine. The M3, of course, was intended strictly for motorsport.
But mention to a BMW technical man that you’ve tried a six-cylinder hybrid of the now world-famous saloon racer and liked it, and he’ll most likely reply with a nod of understanding. Go on to say that the car you’ve driven is powered by the 2.5 litre six as you might expect, but a refined and beefed-up version of the 3.5 litre six, and far from shrinking away in horror, he’ll smile.
They’re tried the concept too, you see. They too, know just how well it works.
But despite that, the 3-Series to end all 3-Series cars comes from the Alpina works just outside Buchloe (say Book-low-ay), rather than the BMW Motorsport halls in Munich. You may remember that Performance Car tried one briefly last year during a trip to Burkard Bovensiepen’s small but exclusive factory, to drive the new B12 (750i based) and B10 (535i based). Driving the B6 fitted with the B10 engine, was an unexpected bonus.
There’s precious little space left under the bonnet of the B6. The front of the big, in-line six, snuggles up to the radiator at one end, and a slightly modified firewall at the other. It’s a tight fit alright, but there’s no drastic cutting or welding needed to make it work.
Behind the engine is the standard M3 gearbox, with the usual dogleg first gear pattern. Strong enough to withstand the 300bhp Group A racing engine, it’s strong enough to handle the torque of the modified 3.5 litre unit too, up from the four-cylinder M3’s 176lb ft at 4000rpm. Power, meanwhile, has been increased from the four’s 200bhp to 260bhp at 6000rpm. The engine will develop that sort of power using unleaded fuel, but should you go for the no-holds-barred emissions version with its EMITEC three-way car cat, then it would be fair to expect slightly less, somewhere in the order of 254bhp.
Other than that, there’s not much change from the basic. The front springs have been changed’ swapped for those used on air-conditioning equipment M3s. The extra weight of the air-conditioning equipment is on par with the 3.5 litre engine. It couldn’t be simpler.
Aplina’s big 8JX16 wheels provide the only visually obvious difference. Wrapped in 225/45VR16 Michelin MXX tyres, they’re not only an inch wider than the original but bigger in diameter by the same amount. In fact the Alpina wheel and tyre sizes exactly match those of the 1988 M3 Evolution. The factory original had small 205/55VR tyres.
Inside Aplina’s M3 there’s walnut trim on the dash as well as the centre console. It’s good enough to look like original equipment but in some ways slightly incongruous in this throughbred of thoroughbreds. One of the dash mounted, rotating fresh air-nozzles is replaced by a special version containing digital instrumentation. This strange device, which frankly, you could live without, displays details of oil pressure and temperature, final drive oil temperature and intake manifold pressure. Alpina-trimmed upholstery adds tot eh effect and there’s a chunky Momo steering wheel too. But the rest of the car is standard M3, and that includes the now familiar left-hand-drive only bodyshell.
Start the B6 up and you’ll be left in no doubt as to the most important difference of all. In fact, you might imagine that you’ve startled a frightened creature rather than activated an inanimate object. The chassis will jerk nervously beneath its driver before settling down, not to a quiet murmur, but rather, an uneasy grumble. The Alpina tuning, which includes their own brand of chip for the engine management system, doesn’t leave the straight-six with the slowest, smoothest of tickovers. There are other changes too, of course, the usual things like camshaft, valves and compression ratio have been interfered with. And the forged pistons from Mahle are shorter, with longer connecting rods to build in more smoothness at higher revs.
The back-towards-you dogleg position of first gear will add to the confusion of using your right hand if you’re not used to left-hand-drive. But there’s nothing unusual about moving away in the B6 – not until you open the throttle. Alpina use a rear axle ratio of 2.79:1 instead of 3.25:1 with a limited slip differential set at 25 per cent, and that all adds up to the long-legged acceleration of the sort that can only be enjoyed in the presence of real power. The engine’s slightly lumpy tickover promises a jerky low-speed response – but it’s just kidding really. A wonderful, mellow howl accompanies the quick dispatch of first gear at 45mph while second gear will take you, Porsche Carrera-like, up to the legal limit at 70mph. Hold third to the 6600rpm rev limiter and you’ll be whisked to 93mph while fourth gear will take you right up to 127mph.
At the Millbrook Proving Ground the B6 blasted to 60mph in 6.0 seconds dead, matching a Ferrari Testarossa, and scorched its way on to 100mph in 15.8 seconds. In fourth gear it will gobble up the 60-80mph increment in just 5.7 seconds and the 70-90mph gap in exactly the same time.
The standard M3, impressive enough in its own right, will take 6.9 seconds to reach 60mph and a full 20.5 seconds to get to 100mph. The 60-80mph increment, meanwhile stretches to 7.3 seconds and 70-90mph 7.9 seconds.
Alpina claim a top speed of 156mph top speed for the B6 which admittedly seems a lot for the square fronted 3-Series. But the B6 didn’t disappoint us and, on the high speed bowl, it averaged 152mph on what was quite a windy day. Allowing for scrub on the two-mile banked circuit (as well as the wind) that’s about what you might expect given several miles of dead straight road.
Mind you, there’s a premium for all that performance. The B6 averaged 20mpg on the road and 12mpg at the Millbrook proving ground.
It’s a heavy car. The B6 tips Millbrook’s scales at 2970lb with a full tank of fuel, compared to Alpina’s official unladen weight of 2904lb. So despite the extra weight, 60bhp plus 60lb ft of extra torque see to it that the power-to-weight ratios are 196bhp per ton, or 200bhp per ton unladen.
But all that weight seems lost in a sea of engineering refinement. The turn-in is even sharper than it was before and the taut chassis and high-geared steering are a sure-fire recipe for a car that’s as nimble as any of its famous forebears.
Oh yes, the ride is uncompromisingly firm. But at the same time it’s never irritating or tiresome. And anyway, on smoother, faster, roads it will seem quite mellow, while on motorways the chassis tracks like the proverbial arrow.
Inside, the driving position is clearly meant for business. There’s no difference from the original and there’s room to sit close enough to the wheel even with long legs. Heel-and-toe shifts are easy and useful for smooth, fast cornering as the 3.5 ltire engine decelerates sharply when you lift-off.
Most important of all with a hybrid car like this, is that the balance is near perfect. The big engine, shoe-horned (however neatly) into the engine bay apparently has no adverse effects on the chassis at all. The B6 understeers less if anything, than the original, due to a large extent no doubt, to the bigger tyres. In short, that M3 chassis, including the different roll-bar, damper and spring settings – still works the magic that separates it from any other 3-Series.
Familiarisation doesn’t take long. Any driver will soon learn that the B6’s roadholding is leech-like. And before long anyone interested in exploring the limits will discover just how progressively that chassis will oversteer with the application of that awesome power – even in the wet. In fact if the mark of a fine chassis were to be just how easily it can be driven and controlled, tail-out, in a small space; then the B6 would easily rank amongst the best.
But the same sharp injection cut-off which makes heel-and-toe downshifting desirable, combined with the 3.5’s heavy flywheel effect, also demands technique on the up-shift. The standard M3 Getrag gearbox (with the same internal ratios) will not be hurried. Reach maximum revs in first and expect to snick-snick the lever into second and you’ll be sadly mistake. Though the clutch is smooth, that awkward dogleg will make you concentrate hard to start with. Rush it and the B6 will make you wish you hadn’t – ill-matched revs will set the Alpina jerking its way to third.
Feather the throttle slightly, cover the clutch pedal rather than dump it, ease the gearlever deliberately but quickly through the gate, and you have it.
Stopping is much more straight forward. The B6 retains the M3’s 11.8inch ventilated front discs and 9.8 inch solid rears, together with those racing s pecification, single-pot callipers on the front, and ANS.
But macho though the new Alpina may be, the wilder side of its nature quickly settles down in town. Trickle it through the city streets and the B6 will come quietly, eager to please, smooth and supple. But underneath a degree of menace still lurks. It’s always there, always ready to leap out, and you always know it. That is what’s so exciting.
It is a classic motorcar for sure. Spend a week with it and you’ll almost regret it – the following week is lost in hopeless fantasies of a Pools win.
The B6 is a villain among motorcars. It’s wicked, and attacks the road with a gritty exuberance. Yet it’s not temperamental, you’d have t be daft to get caught by it, and most important of all it’s not a trickster in the wet.
But in this case the priviledge of ownership doesn’t come cheaply. You’ll probably remember that Burkard Bovensiepen, Alpina’s boss and founder, also specialises in some of the worlds finest wines. You may also remember that he considers his cars and wines to be complementary to one another.
The B6 costs Dm85,000 (£27,243) in Germany exclusive of tax. In the UK it is available to order from Sytner of Nottingham (0206 582 831) for around £35,000 depending on the specification. It’s a lot, but the B6 is also one of the best rear-wheel-drive performance cars you are ever likely to find.
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