Home | 1982 BMW/Alpina C1 2.3

This blog details the restoration of my 1982 BMW/Alpina C1 2.3.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Alpina was fully coming into it's own, not just offering parts and kits but building their own cars from stock BMWs. For the first 3-sesries BMW (the E21 chassis), Alpina offered conversion kits to dealers and tuners for the C1 2.3 and built their own B6 2.8. The former was based on teh "baby six" motor, the M20 (later found in the E30 325i) and the latter used the big six M30 motor from the 5- and 6-series BMWs. But a handful of C1 2.3s were actually built by Alpina in their factory in Buchloe--not converted by dealers or tuners. These Buchloe-built C1 2.3s are very rare, with numbers estimated to be under 25. This car is authenticated by Alpina as one of these extremely rare Buchloe-built C1 2.3s.

I found the car on Bring-a-Trailer in late 2016 and contacted the owner during the auction. The auction did not meet reserve and I was the second highest bidder. After the auction ended I did some more due diligence, including contacting Alpina who verified it was built by them in Buchloe. With this information and a PPI, the owner and I came to a deal a few weeks later.

When I finally saw the car it was rougher than I expected, needing paint and a mechanical rebuild. But it's worth the effort: it's a very rare car, one of 462 C1 2.3s made worldwide and one of only a fraction of those built in Buchloe by the Alpina factory. So a refresh began. And here is the story. To read the about the triumphs and travails, click on "blog" above.

Enjoy! And feel free to email me at info@alpinac1.com with you comments and suggestions.