Description
Selling what is without doubt an outstanding example of the BMW Z4 Alpina S Lux Roadster 3. 4s. I purchased the vehicle as a future investment as this is only one of 167 cars made for the UK and they are now getting rare which will protect and drive the investment upwards.
The car is in immaculate condition always in a garage and hardly ever driven in the rain during my ownership.
The Alpina has a full service history and has just had a major service completed 1000 miles ago. Current mileage stands at 63k and not expected to go much higher as only used on the sunshine at weekends.
I have attached a report here from Octane Magazine
Mention tweaked BMWs and most people think of the much-loved ‘M’ cars. But what about the less obvious products of Alpina? There will be few evo readers who haven’t heard of Alpina, but not all will realise that 2015 marks half a century since Alpina was officially founded, after Burkard Bovensiepen created his first twin-carb conversions for the BMW 1500 in a shed around the back of his family’s typewriter factory.
Within three years the typewriters were out of the window and Alpina was fully focused on building hot BMWs, with drivers such as Derek Bell, James Hunt, Niki Lauda and Jackie Ickx going on to prove their worth with a raft of touring car victories during the late 1960s and early ’70s.
Around the same time, BMW tasked Alpina with creating a version of its 3. 0 CSL for touring car racing, the result being the legendary, lightweight ‘Batmobile’ that, as a homologation model, was supplied with a rear wing packed away in the boot – because using it on German roads was illegal.
Dozens of Alpina models have been created since, but we would tip the Roadster S as being the one to invest in. Available from 2004 to 2008, it was the last Alpina to have its engine – a 3. 4-litre in-line six – hand built at the Buchloe factory before all mechanical work shifted to BMW’s Munich line (nowadays, only the final trimming is done at Alpina HQ).
Based on the Z4, the Roadster S offered 300bhp, 267lb ft, 165mph, significant suspension upgrades and the all-important manual gearbox. Subtle styling tweaks and special Alpina wheels also gave the car greater presence, while the interior got more leather.
Sytner, the UK’s sole BMW agent for Alpina in the UK since 1983, struggled to shift the first Roadster Ss and eventually dropped prices of both the standard and ‘Lux’ versions to below £40, 000. Today they start from as little as £10, 000. Rear-wheel drive, 300bhp, six-speed manual, up to 32mpg and only 167 made in right-hand drive. What are you waiting for?
A fantastic car and a brilliant drive.
