We did get a BMW performance wagon in the States

"Jagvar" (Jagvar) 03/20/2014 at 12:13 • Filed to: None

7

15

There isn't a long list of high-performance wagons that have been sold Stateside. The Mercedes E55/E63 AMG estate and CTS-V wagon come to mind. Also, the Audi S6 Avant sold from 2001-2003, and maybe a couple of E34 M5 estates that snuck in via the gray market. But people often forget that, while there was no production E39 M5 wagon, there was the Alpina B10 V8.

In production from 1997 through 2003, the B10 V8 was based on the 540i, which itself had a 286 bhp, 4.4L V8. In the B10, Alpina increased the displacement to 4.6L, also installing a new crankshaft, more aggressive camshafts, lighter and higher-compression Mahle pistons, and reprogramming the Motronic system. The result was 347 bhp and 480 Nm of torque at 3800 rpm.

In wagon form, the B10 V8 achieved 0-60 mph in just over 6 seconds, with a top speed of 167 mph. While it didn't quite hit M5 levels of performance, it was the meanest wagon to wear the blue propeller badge until the introduction of the Euro-only E60 M5 estate. And unlike the latter, the Alpina could be had in the United States...if you could stomach the original price tag, which equates to about $175K in today's dollars.

RazoE > Jagvar 03/20/2014 at 12:19

0

I love every Alpina (except the Z8, they utterly RUINED it) ever made.

Tom McParland > Jagvar 03/20/2014 at 12:19

0

Dat wagon!

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > Jagvar 03/20/2014 at 12:21

0

And there was much fapping.

Frank Grimes > Jagvar 03/20/2014 at 12:30

1

alpina stripes make me feel happy.

It's a "Porch-uh" > Jagvar 03/20/2014 at 12:34

2

it was the meanest wagon to wear the blue propeller badge

It's not a propeller!

http://www.leftlanenews.com/living-a-lie-b…

Richard Watson > Jagvar 03/20/2014 at 12:46

0

Beautiful, but slower to 60 than the current turbo 4 cyl 328i wagon.

http://www.bmwusa.com/Standard/Conte…

davedave1111 > It's a "Porch-uh" 03/20/2014 at 12:53

0

Wait, people actually think it is? I'd hear people call it that a few times, but always assumed they were joking.

Goshen, formerly Darkcode > RazoE 03/20/2014 at 12:54

0

The Alpina Z8 shouldn't be considered in the same level as other Alpinas. It wasn't a modified version of a standard BMW built for higher performance; it was more or less a USer-spec Z8.

hethoughtofcars > davedave1111 03/20/2014 at 12:56

0

It's a pretty common myth. Also, that BMW stands for "Bavarian Motor Works"

davedave1111 > hethoughtofcars 03/20/2014 at 13:05

1

Er, it does, just in German. The initial letters are the same, and the words are cognates. It's Bayerische Motoren Werke.

RazoE > Goshen, formerly Darkcode 03/20/2014 at 13:12

0

It was an automatic piece of crap.

Textured Soy Protein > Jagvar 03/20/2014 at 13:17

0

Other performance wagons (although not necessarily E63/CTS-V/M5 level performance):

2009-2010 Audi A6 Avant 3.0T

2001-2002 Audi S4 Avant 2.7T

2004-2008 Audi S4 Avant 4.2

2008-2010 BMW 535xiT

1999-2003 BMW 540iT

2004-2006 Mercedes E500 wagon

2006-2009 Saab 9-3 Aero SportCombi 2.8T

2005-2007 Subaru Legacy 2.5GT wagon

The World of Vee > It's a "Porch-uh" 03/20/2014 at 13:20

1

I try and tell that to everyone and they laugh at me. And then I show them my Bavarian flag (having lived for years in munich) and then they say it's a coincidence

Z_Stig > It's a "Porch-uh" 03/20/2014 at 13:26

0

Long live Bavaria!

Goshen, formerly Darkcode > RazoE 03/21/2014 at 10:33

0

Many other Alpinas were automatic (or worse, diesel) pieces of crap. At least the Z8 got a V12 (not a good one though).