note:
ok...this is overdue..the reason is I had planned on writing it, but then read SHERLOCK's excellent summary of
his visit......EXCELLENT WRITEUP.
click here to read it.
So, on to MY REVIEW!!
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first, let me warn you....things are very different at alpina.
If you plan on getting a factory tour:
1.buy a
new Alpina
2. call 1 month in advance with a group of 15-20 people
3. have connections!
So, we start our morning...Lasseo, my brother, and I...getting some breakfast. Then called alpina to arrange a factory tour....."sure, no problem....we can do it in one month"......
ooops!!!
alf: "no that wont do.....we need one in an hour"
alpina: "not possible:
(a few phonecalls later to various people......and we are on our way)
that was close!!
After a q-u-i-c-k drive on the autobahn with my Alpina b12 5.7, and Lasseo's Blue M5...we arrive at our destination:
Alpenstrasse, Buchloe home of ALPINA:
--->more importantly....here are
our cars :
.....now for the
"money shot" :
ps....doesn't that make you drool...GUSTAV?
so having our cars parked......what do we see.......
.....Alpina b12 5.7
number 23 !!!....CarlT are you there?......got it!?
side note : for those that don't know Alpina B12 5.7.....only "57" of these cars were made....so it definitely is a
rare event to come across one. The owner of this car was a gentleman and a true enthusiast....you could tell he really loved the car. Special features of his was a special alpina metallic green paint and the green wood inside. The car looke SOOOO GOOOD
---> more pics.....no.27 meet no.23:
i thought this was cool
PART 2: Beginning the TOUR!!
comment: Alpina automobiles (in my opinion) peaked in the 1990's....with cars like the ALPINA B10 BiTURBO and the ALPINA B12 5.7 . Both were ridiculously fast BMW's and were made with a "performance at any cost" motto.
Alpina of 2000 is really more about exclusivity and luxury refinement. This probably has alot to do with the even closer connection between BMW and ALPINA now....and the need to leave M GmbH as the forefront of performance of the BMW line. Alpina's are DEFINITELY still and even more exclusive than before.
But personally, while I appreciate their amazing quality....its not my style.
---> The Factory is taken over with Alpina Z8 Roadsters all over the place.....
we saw at least 2-3 of these being loaded up during our visit!
ok...ok.....the tour:
We met with
Mr.Gerhard Weber....the manager
Mr.Axel Rimpler customer svce manager
and Mr.Chris Klotzbuecher from the warranty dept. (and our tour guide)
They were all gentleman and very friendly....we could tell right away, that they were a bit stressed with trying to accomodate us...but were genuinely personal with us.
bldg no.1:
PART 3: ALPINA ENGINES
A: Alpina b10 biturbo engine:
--->VIDEO here
the engine is really a work of art....and as Chris told us it had very rich mapping and brutal power.
B: Alpina b12 5.7 engine:
C: Other famous Alpina engines:
note: the D10 biturbo engine in the far left.....this is the most advance turbo diesel engines made!!
PART 4: ENGINE FABRICATION
this is probably one of the most unique sections of the factory tour...Chris explained in detail what is involved with making parts for alpina engine....we met with the master mechanic in this division (and incidentally every division we went to)...here we were shown the
differences between bmw parts and Alpina.
what you are looking at is 150,000 euros worth of R&D....these I believe are manifold brackets....the Alpina one is on the left.....the BMW one is on the right.
note the differences!!
---> these guys are crazy!!! Glad to know!
engine blocks:
---> next we see the machine used to open up the injection ports/valves....very unique machine...it basically makes sure everything is centered. Even if you push the machine....the drill stays centered....very cool.
note: the "alpina" steering wheel!
---> VIDEO here
--->finished product:
so at this point....most "tuners" are done. Not Alpina, they go thru an
extensive evaluation process:
PART 4: ENGINE EVALUATION
--->polishing:
--->fitting:
--->VIDEO here
PART 5: ENGINE ASSEMBLY
-->There are 8 assembly bays...each mechanic is responsible for the completion of the entire engine. And they rotate the engines they are working on...so they can all assemble each alpina model type!
funny: so this begged the question....who assembled
our engine?.....at this point the head engineer came out to read the serial number off our engine....along with 5 other engineers....it was pretty funny, all were trying to locate the number with flashlights...with my brother, myself, lasseo, Mr.rimpler, Chris, and a couple of other workers looking on....they finally found the number!!!
now we go back to the engine assembly....plug the number into the computer and find out who it is. It is the mechanic in the picture above....all of us go up to him smiling...and the head engineer says to him
"you built they're b12 5.7 engine...he looks up white as a ghost...and steps back (unaware of what we were doing) and says
"what.....is something...wrong with it?....and we all start laughing, realizing we frightened the guy,...and explained that we just wanted to meet him!
this just shows you how personally these people take their job. In fact, chris told us, that it isn't uncommon for a customer to request the same mechanic to build another alpina because he/she was impressed with the current car they own.
---> talk about pride!!
--->now, for the BEST PART
PART 6: ENGINE TESTING
we met with the Engine Tester at Alpina. This is one of the most important jobs at the company. All the new models, prototypes etc...go thru this guy. We walk in...and immediately strike up a relationship with him.
He tells us that this test bench can do this...and this....and can do that and that.
They had a B7 engine in the bench which we were not allowed to take pictures of. We were the first people(visitors) to see this engine....Sherlock was the second
!
engineer: as you can see all controls of the engine are handled directly from the computer.
chris: (smiling)
me: (looking at my brother...then the engineer)
me: OK....LET's GO!.....fire it up....lets see what this engine can do!!!
engineer: (looking at chris.....then the engine:....then me....) Yeah....lets see!!!!
Alpina B7 engine: RRRRRRROOOOOAAAAARRRRR!!!!!!
all of us: (smiling and laughing!)
We asked the engineer which were his favorite engines....he told us two.
one: was a racing engine produced for bmw when he was recruited from alpina to develop it for them....it was a 4cylinder 1.4 liter engine that produced 1000+ hp!!!!!!!!! Obviously it ran on alternate-special fuel. Still cool!!!! wow!
the second: ............
.............
..............the Alpina B10 biturbo!!!!
now THIS is my kind of guy!!
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--->all in all the tour took 3 hours.....we couldn't believe it....Chris remarked that this was great and the people we met, we all had alot of fun with.....and really got to know them more personally...and you could tell they took pride in their work. From the managers....down to the mechanics.
--->We also met with the head leather craftsman, who gave us some alpina souveneirs
--->saw the further testing on the D10 engine, the new 7 series, and the Z4 was rolled by us (at 1/2 horsepower....looks great with alpina wheels...but really didn't ask any questions about it)
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I hope you enjoyed the writeup...I wanted to make it a little different from the other writeups I have seen!!!
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FOR MORE PICTURES please visit:
Lasseo's homepage
VISIT to ALPINA DETAILS (long...enthusiasts only)
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