BMW E24 Six Series - Tuned Cars

 

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BMW E24 Alpina B7

Early Alpina B7 Turbo from Garage du Bac

Alpina

Alpina got off the mark fairly quickly when the E24 was launched in 1976. Their first re-engineered car was based on the 630CS and was called the B2. Using parts from their previous 3.0CS upgrades the car had Solex carbs, a custom inlet manifold and developed 230bhp (more than any BMW non-M E24). Externally it sported 14" Alpina wheels, often garish Alpina stripes, front and rear spoilers. The custom Alpina interior included their own seat fabric, wooden gear knob and steering wheel.

BMW E24 Alpina B7 engine

B7 Turbo engine with the older style injection.

The B7 turbo followed in 1978, again based on the 3.0 M30 but this time fuel injected and turbocharged. The electronically controlled system used a Pierburg DL airflow meter and a Dr. Hartig ECU. To tame the beast a cockpit control knob allowed the driver to limit maximum boost from 0.6 to 0.9 bar (9 to 13psi). The B7 made 300bhp and had similar external and internal refinements to the B2 although wheels were now the larger 16" black centre type.

BMW E24 Alpina B7

Facelift Alpina B7 Turbo.

The B7S was a May 1982 limited edition of 30 cars making 330bhp from a 3.5 litre turbo engine.

Once BMW went to Motronic injection on the 635CSi Alpina did the same. Later B7s were 3.5s which developed 330bhp. They used a low restriction catalytic converter made by Emitec. 313 examples were produced.

BMW E24 Alpina interior

Wonderful Alpina interior.

A normally aspirated B9 3.5 entered production from the 1982 facelift model. It boasted revised combustion chamber design, lightweight Mahle pistons and slightly modified camshafts. The B9 had an impressive 245bhp along with the usual Alpina suspension upgrades, spoilers and interior. It's 16" wheels were 7" front / 8" rear wearing 205 / 225 tyres, I had a set of these on my own six and prefer them to the later style. A truly lovely car.

BMW E24 Alpina B9

Alpina B9 3.5. 16" 205 front 225 rear

In 1985 the B9 became the B10 and power rose to 261bhp. I had an E34 B10 3.5 with this engine and it was just amazing. The car now had the more familiar 17" alloys with silver centre caps. Only 119 B9 and B10s were sold due to the extremely high price premium over what was already an expensive car. They remain some of the most desirable E24s.

BMW E24 AC Schnitzer S6

AC Schnitzer S6

AC Schnitzer

AC Schnitzer made their S6 from the 1982 facelift. Engine modifications gave a rise in power to 240bhp @ 6000rpm. The car had the distinctive Schnitzer alloys, spoilers and specially tuned suspension.

Many sixes were modified by their owners using parts from this tuner, their numbers far outweigh the number of genuine S6s.

 

BMW E24 Hartge H6S

Hartge H6S

BMW E24 Hartge H6S

Hartge H6S with distinctive alloys.

Hartge

Hartge put substantial resources into developing the M30 and S38 engines. The base H6S made 240bhp @ 5900rpm and the H6SP 254 @ 6000, they had new pistons and a free flow tubular exhaust manifold. BMW's stock M30 exhaust manifold was geared to mass production rather than performance. Both cars had custom suspension and 16" Hartge alloys which I've always liked the look of.

The H6-24 was derived from the M635CSi and gained re-profiled camshafts along with a higher 11:1 compression ratio. Power rose to 330bhp @ 6800rpm, an incredible 44 more than the already excellent M635CSi.