With just 190 UK E46 Alpina B3 Cabriolets made, it makes them quite a special and unique car to own. The E46 is BMW’s fourth generation of the famous 3 Series, which has been around since the mid 1970’s, creating one of the most popular Series BMW’s of all time. Alpina, who are a tuning company, have been working alongside BMW since the mid 1960’s.

They take a BMW engine from the production line and work their magic, and add an upgraded transmission which is then mated to a chosen vehicle, again from the production line. The car is then hand built to create something rather special.

Looking like a bit more of a sleeper over the M3, with the Alpina you get similar performance and more comfort, thus making the B3 an excellent all rounder for journeys anywhere, especially in the summer with the roof down, a true driving machine.

The seller of this lovely 2001 BMW E46 Alpina B3, has been the owner for the past 10 months. Already owning a nice collection of various model BMW’s, when he saw this come for sale he felt it would be another welcomed addition to the fold. The Alpina is #24 built by Alpina, and is believed to be just 1 of 4 UK cars to be finished in Violet Blue. 

There are also another couple of rare things which make this colour combination quite unique, such as the Anthracite Birch Trim which is thought to have only been fitted to #24, and the purple carpet which is thought to have been fitted to numbers #24 and #129.

A change in the seller’s career path, has unfortunately meant that the BMW is now looking for a new home.

The V5 is present and shows 5 previous keepers for the Alpina. 

The original owners wallet is present and complete, with the various manuals and all important service book, which has a total of 6 stamps plus an additional 4 for the brake fluid and 2 for coolant services. The seller has also just had a full service carried out at 83,737 miles, with genuine BMW parts.

The MOT history all looks to be in good order and tallies up with the mileage of the vehicle. It also suggests that the car has spent a lot of time being stored in previous keepers’ garages and used as a weekend car, as it has only covered approximately 20,000 miles since 2005. 

The seller has put the Alpina through an MOT, giving the new owner peace of mind, which is valid until the 3rd March 2023.

Inside, the Alpina is something quite special. It has Lotus White nappa leather, which is in excellent condition, and shows no real signs of any wear to the bolsters, and the seat squabs are nice and tight with no sagging. The headrests in the front have been embroidered with the Alpina logos to finish them off, and on the electric side of things, everything is working as it should. 

The steering wheel is in good condition with just some minimal wear, in keeping with the mileage. Just in front, the instrument binnacle has no warning lights displayed, and the service indicator has been reset following the latest service. There is an intermittent airbag light which has been coming on. The seller has reported this to Stratstone Chesterfield BMW, who have looked at the car and confirmed that they will replace the passenger airbag on a recall. This is quite a common problem for the E46, and the work is due to be carried out on the 9th March 2022. 

Moving across the dashboard, the switchgear for the satellite navigation is in good order, with no real wear to the buttons. Lower down, the original factory head-unit is in place with a cassette player, and this is also connected to a boot mounted CD multiplayer. Finishing off the dashboard is the anthracite birch trim, and it is reportedly the only E46 Alpina finished with this trim combination. 

The carpets are in excellent condition and are purple in colour to match the exterior. Again, it is thought that just two were built with this colour carpet. There is a set of matching mats in the same colour, also in excellent order. 

The boot area is again well presented, with the sat nav and CD multi changer mounted to the left. Lifting the false floor reveals the spare wheel, and mounted to the boot lid is the original, and nice to see, complete tool kit.

Finished in the stunning Violet Blue, as already mentioned, it is thought to be 1 of 4 UK registered cars in this colour. The colour is wonderful and put it in the sunshine it comes into its own.  

Starting at the front of the BMW, there are a small amount of stone chips as you would expect, but definitely less than the age and mileage would suggest. There are a couple of chips on the lower Alpina spoiler, with some small amounts of lacquer peel. The headlight lenses are in good order, with no splits to be seen, and the foglights have just a few very light chips, as you would expect. The bonnet aligns as it should with the wings and bumper. Looking over the bonnet, it is relatively chip free. The only thing to point out is a small amount of lacquer which has come off approximately 1” long and 1/4” wide. Moving up, the windscreen is in good order, with no chips to be seen. 

Around to the flanks of this beautiful E46, the door gaps are nice and equal around all of the edges and open and close with a reassuring clunk. There are no annoying dings or dents to worry about spoiling the sharp lines of the Alpina, it looks as straight as a die. The wheel arches, sometimes a problem area on this model, are, we are pleased to say, nice and clean with no signs of corrosion. Just like the windscreen, the side windows are free from any noticeable scratches and operate as they should when the roof goes up and down. 

The roof looks to have spent a lot of time in the up position, as there is minimal creasing, often caused when stored down for long periods. There are a few faint white marks on the roof, possibly caused when in storage and covered up. A deep clean with some fabric roof cleaner may rectify this. To the rear, and just like the rest of the car, it is free from any scuffs. There are factory fit rear parking sensors which are working as they should. The light clusters have no splits or cracks to mention, and the car retains its original Alpina B3 badges.  

The Alpina alloy wheels are in excellent condition and show no signs of any corrosion or damage to the faces or edges of the rims, and the Alpina centre caps are also in excellent order. Continental tyres are fitted to all four corners. There is an advisory for the rear tyres, so these will need to be replaced in the near future, but the front ones do have some miles left in them.

As you probably know, the E46 is no slouch in standard form, but when Alpina pulls the cars from the production line the engine for the E46 gets an upgrade to a 3.3 litre, creating a convertible with 276 bhp and 247 lb-ft of torque, and an impressive 0-60 mph in just 4.2 seconds. 

The E46 Alpina starts up wonderfully, with no untoward noises coming from the clean and detailed engine bay. The gearbox in the car is the silky smooth, 5-speed Switch-tronic. With the touch of a button to the back of the steering wheel, the car effortlessly changes up or down the gears.    

There are no untoward noises coming from the suspension, and the ride is firm and stable, as you would expect for a performance BMW, and the car comes to a halt as it should with no juddering reported to come through the pedal.

What a fantastic opportunity to own this rare Violet Blue coloured E46 Alpina B3! The spec of the car is a one off, with purple carpets and Anthracite Birch trim. It has been well cared for in the past, and obviously looking at the MOT history, mainly used as a weekend or show car. 

3.3 litres of pure fun, especially in summer with the roof down, what more could you possibly need? German engineering, tuned by Alpina, and a modern classic in superb condition. Will you be the one taking #24 home?

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