The Alpina B10 Bi-Turbo is a high performance version of the

BMW 5 Series (E34) The BMW E34 is the third generation of the BMW 5 Series, which was produced from 2 November 1987, until 1996. Initially launched as a saloon in January 1988, the E34 also saw a "Touring" station wagon (estate) body style added in September 19 ...

executive car manufactured by German automobile manufacturer

Alpina Alpina Burkard Bovensiepen GmbH & Co. KG is an automobile manufacturing company based in Buchloe, in the Ostallgäu district of Bavaria, Germany that develops and sells high-performance versions of BMW cars. Alpina works closely with BMW and t ...

. Beginning production in 1989, the B10 Bi-Turbo was based on the 535i and received several upgrades by Alpina, being the fastest production sedan in the world at the time of its introduction. Production ended in 1994 with 507 examples produced. Developed at a cost of US$3.2 million, the B10 Bi-Turbo was introduced at the

Geneva Motor Show The Geneva International Motor Show was an annual auto show held in March in the Swiss city of Geneva. The show was hosted at the Palexpo, a convention centre located next to the Geneva Cointrin International Airport. The Salon was organised b ...

in March 1989.

Specifications

To build each B10 Bi-Turbo powerplant, Alpina dismantled a

BMW M30 The BMW M30 is a SOHC straight-six petrol engine which was produced from 1968 to 1995. With a production run of 27 years, it is BMW's longest produced engine and was used in many car models. The first models to use the M30 engine were the BMW 25 ...

engine, replaced the stock pistons with forged Mahle units, installed two

Garrett Garrett may refer to: Places in the United States * Garrett, Illinois, a village * Garrett, Indiana, a city * Garrett, Floyd County, Kentucky, an unincorporated community * Garrett, Meade County, Kentucky, an unincorporated community * Garrett, ...

T25 water-cooled turbochargers, and added a Bosch variable boost control with range of 0.4–0.8 bar, adjustable from the driver's seat. Additional modifications helped raise the horsepower of the standard M30 engine from at 5,700 rpm and at 3,000 rpm to at 6,000 rpm and at 4,000 rpm. A

Getrag Getrag (), stylized as GETRAG, was a major supplier of transmission systems for passenger cars and commercial vehicles. The company was founded on 1 May 1935, in Ludwigsburg, Germany, by Hermann Hagenmeyer; as the ''Getriebe und Zahnradfabrik ...

290 5-speed manual transmission was specified to handle the power. Modifications to the suspension included Alpina-specific springs and anti-roll bars. Bilstein shock absorbers were used at the front and automatic-load levelling units by Fichtel & Sachs were used at the rear. Front brake rotors were large discs from UK-based Lucas Girling, bigger even than the pieces found on the E34 M5.

Michelin Michelin ( , ), in full ("General Company of the Michelin Enterprises P.L.S."), is a French multinational tyre manufacturing company based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes '' région'' of France. It is the second largest t ...

MXX tyres were standard as was BMW's Automatic Stability Control (ASC).

Performance

Alpina claimed a 0–100 km/h (62 mph) acceleration time of 5.6 seconds and a top speed of over 290 km/h (180.2 mph), putting it in the same league as a five years older car model

Ferrari Testarossa The Ferrari Testarossa (Type F110) is a 12-cylinder mid-engine sports car manufactured by Ferrari, which went into production in 1984 as the successor to the Ferrari Berlinetta Boxer. The Pininfarina-designed car was originally produced from ...

in terms of performance. In the September 1991 issue of ''

Road & Track ''Road & Track'' (stylized as ''R&T'') is an American automotive enthusiast magazine first published 1947. It is owned by Hearst Magazines and is published six times per year. The editorial offices are located in New York City. History ''Road ...

,''

Paul Frère Paul Frère (; 30 January 1917 – 23 February 2008) was a racing driver and journalist from Belgium. He participated in eleven World Championship Formula One Grands Prix debuting on 22 June 1952 and achieving one podium finish with a total of e ...

wrote: "For me this is the car ... I think this is the best 4-door in the world." Despite a base price tag of 146,800 DM, nearly twice the price of an E34 M5, the B10 Bi-Turbo became the best-selling single model in Alpina history up until that point. The six year production run began in 1989 and ended in August 1994. Production ended due to the discontinuation of the M30 engine by BMW in 1993. The final 50 M30 engine blocks were shipped to Alpina for use in the final 50 cars.

Independent performance test results

* 0–: 5.2 seconds

Sport Auto ''sport auto'' is a German automobile magazine, established in 1969, published monthly by Motor Presse Stuttgart, based in Stuttgart. The magazine publishes its "Supertest" of cars, featuring the laptime at the Nordschleife. Until 2015 almost a ...

1/1990 4-11 * 0–: 19.7 seconds

Auto, Motor und Sport ''Auto Motor und Sport'', (stylized in all lowercase) and abbreviated AMS or AMuS, is a German automobile magazine. It is published fortnightly by Motor Presse Netzwerk's subsidiary Motor Presse Stuttgart, a specialist magazine publisher that i ...

24/1989 12-18 * 0–400 m: 13.2 seconds * 0–1,000 m: 24.6 seconds * 0–: 5.1 seconds * 0–: 11.6 seconds * Standing mile (402m): 13.6 seconds at * Top speed:

September 1991

Technical data

igures in brackets refer to Swiss market vehicles

Gallery

Image:Alpina B10 BiTurbo BASIS BMW 5er Gen3 E34 1989-1994 backleft 2011-06-04 U.jpg, Rear view Image:Alpina-B10-BiTurbo-Seitenansicht.jpg, Image:Alpina rim.jpg, Alpina wheel Image:Alpina Deco stripe.jpg, Alpina pinstripes

Bibliography

* Götz Leyrer, « Fünfer Potenz », ''

'', #24, 17 November 1989 (B10 Bi-Turbo,

BMW M5 The BMW M5 is a super high-performance variant of the BMW 5 Series marketed under the BMW M sub-brand. It is considered an iconic vehicle in the sports saloon category. The M5 has always been produced in the saloon (sedan, US English) body s ...

and

AC Schnitzer AC Schnitzer is a third party tuning company based in Aachen, Germany, specializing in BMW and MINI cars, and BMW motorcycles. Founded in 1987 by Willi Kohl and Herbert Schnitzer. Its range includes tuning for BMW vehicles and the Mini and Land ...

S5 3.7 comparison). * HB, « Die B-Handlung », ''

'', #5, May 1990 (Alpina B10 Bi-Turbo, B6 3.5S and B12 5.0 comparison). * Götz Leyrer, « Duell in der Wonne », ''

'', #13, 1990 (B10 Bi-Turbo and Ferrari 348 TB comparison). * « Croisière à 300 à l'heure », '' Auto Hebdo'', #749, 17 October 1990. (B10 Bi-Turbo and

Ruf CTR The Ruf CTR (Group C, Turbo Ruf) also known as the CTR Yellowbird or simply Yellowbird, is a limited-production, high performance sports car manufactured by German automobile manufacturer Ruf Automobile. Introduced for the 1987 model year and bas ...

comparison). * '' Auto Hebdo Sport'', #391, November 1990. (B10 Bi-Turbo and

comparison). * Kevin Blick, « Vintage Alpina », ''

Performance Car A performance car is a car that exhibits above-average capabilities in one or more of the following areas: acceleration (torque and throttle response), top speed (horsepower), cornering and braking. It is debated how much performance is requi ...

'', November 1990. (B10 Bi-Turbo review). * « Der Sinn des Strebens », ''

'', #3, 1991 (B10 Bi-Turbo,

, Opel Lotus Omega and

Mercedes-Benz 500E The Mercedes-Benz 500 E (1990–1993; 1993–1995 sold as E 500; type W124.036) is a high-performance version of the W124 sold by Mercedes-Benz from 1990 to 1995. The 500 E was created in close cooperation with Porsche. With its engine ...

comparison). * « World's fastest cars », ''

'', #9, September 1991 (sports car comparison:

Lamborghini Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. ( , ), usually referred to as Lamborghini or colloquially Lambo, is an Italian manufacturer of luxury sports cars and SUVs based in Sant'Agata Bolognese. The company is owned by the Volkswagen Group through its su ...

Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello. Founded in 1939 by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988), the company built Auto Avio Costruzioni 815, its first car in 1940, adopted its current name in 1945, and be ...

, Corvette ZR4, Ruf...). * « 360CV dans une berline au sommet », ''BMWorld'', #4 (B10 Bi-Turbo review). * « Saloonacy », ''Classic & Sports car'', #1, 2004 (B10 Bi-Turbo and Opel Lotus Omega comparison). * Maxime Joly
Alpina B10 Biturbo e34 (1989 - 1994) : Autoroute racer
''automobile-sportive.com'', 27 February 2010 (retrieved 9 March 2014). * Alexander Bernt

''

Auto Bild ''Auto Bild'' is a leading German automobile magazine based in Hamburg, Germany. History and profile ''Auto Bild'' was first published on the last week of February 1986. The magazine is published by Axel Springer AG on a weekly basis. The webs ...

'', 9 June 2011 (Retrieved 7 December 2014) * .

References

{{Alpina B10 (Bi-Turbo) Rear-wheel-drive vehicles Sports sedans 1990s cars Cars introduced in 1989 Cars discontinued in 1994