Alpina B10 Price Guide

The Alpina B10 is the thinking person’s BMW 5 Series — and in Bi-Turbo form it was briefly the fastest production saloon in the world. While BMW’s M5 took the shouty approach, Alpina applied twin turbochargers to the straight-six and created something that could reach 290km/h in complete, whispered composure.

The Range

The B10 designation covers Alpina’s 5 Series conversions from 1988 to 2003, spanning the E34 and E39 platforms. The B10 Bi-Turbo of 1989–1994, based on the E34, is the legendary variant: a 3.5-litre twin-turbocharged straight-six producing 360bhp at a time when the BMW M5 made 315bhp. Just 507 were built, making it one of the rarest production Alpinas. The speedometer read to 300km/h. A 0–100km/h time of 5.6 seconds confirmed that Alpina’s claim to the world’s fastest saloon title was not mere marketing. The naturally aspirated B10 4.6 followed on the E39 platform, using an uprated version of BMW’s 4.6-litre V8.

What to Know

The Bi-Turbo’s twin Garrett turbos are the critical concern on high-mileage examples — original turbos are irreplaceable and rebuilding them requires specialist knowledge. The E34 body corrodes around the sills and rear wheelarches; inspect carefully under the plastic arch liners. The Getrag five-speed manual on the earliest Bi-Turbos is a rare find — most were ZF automatic. Alpina’s Buchloe factory maintained meticulous build records and Alpina will supply a Zertifikat confirming a car’s original specification, which is worth obtaining for any potential purchase.

Buying

The Bi-Turbo is a genuine collector’s car with values that have risen steadily as its significance becomes better understood. Naturally aspirated E39-era B10s offer everyday usability at lower entry prices. Any B10 with a complete Alpina service history and matching-numbers specification is worth a premium. The B5 succeeded the B10 in Alpina’s five-series lineup when the E60 arrived.