What makes 2002 an Alpina

[alan717]

 I did a search  but could not find a definitive answer, so I apologize if this is adressed somewhere else plus I'm a little rusty on 2002 things and I'm just bringing myself back up to speed.

So I ask this:

What makes a 2002 an Alpina? What I mean is what qualifies the car to wear the Alpina  badge on the back? Is it having all Alpina parts installed or 20% Alpina parts etc?  Or is  there are no recognized criteria and is it just mainly someone slapping an Alpina tag on the back of the car and having a steering wheel hub and gearshift knob with an Alpina decal on it. 

 

I ask this because I bounce back-and-forth in my mind someday I would like to make in Alpina clone car,  you know with the Colorado orange and black hood/trunk and I'm wondering what I need to look at  to be able to put "Alpina"on the back without getting beat up by fellow 2002ers at an event or getting flipped the bird if a 2002 drives by me  or worse yet actually getting kidnapped and erased from the face of the earth by a real Alpina club/group/association.

 

 Thanks y'all

[ray_]

ZINZ does!

 

 

(sorry!)

 

Cheers,

[jrkoupe]

alan

 

I cannot imagine how many varying responses you may get here.....buuuuuuuut

 

I dont feel you should put an alpina badge on your car ever simply cause it aint an Alpina car!...lol

 

That being said you can do what you want.

 

Did you know that Dinan had a points system and when you had a certain amt of points they would "allow" a DINAN badge on the car.....Alpina back in the day never had such.....they may now tho on current models. I also dont know if back in the day you could just order an Alpina badge?.....or if Alpina placed a badge on a car w/ say just an Alpina steering wheel?...

 

Now, say you built up your car....it had A4 style injection, steering wheel, pAINt, wheels etc etc etc.....I would respect your efforts/vision and say sure do a badge!....

 

 

just as u stated, its called a clone or a tribute car ..........there really are no rules.....unless you go to a 911 forum and see the fights re clone vs tribute.....lol.........typically a tribute car has more freedom than a clone

Edited March 21, 2017 by jrkoupe

[alan717]

  I am not one just a slap a badge on the car just because of a paint job. If I went through all the work of making it a respectable nice car that maybe resembled a real Alpina  I still wouldn't put the name on the back because it was not earned if I didn't put enough Alpina parts on it. 

 

Thanks  for the quick responses I'll continue to look into that.

[Conserv]

It's probably not an Alpina unless the car went to Bovensiepen and had Alpina make some mods.  The mods could be as minor as some suspension mods: the customer dictated what he/she wanted.  There was a recent BAT sale of a 1972 2000tii touring model that was bona fide Alpina car, replete with documents showing a new 2000tii being sent to Alpina, moderately modified -- primarily suspension, brakes, and rims -- and then sold to the initial owner.  Note: it looks nothing like your Colorado and black sample!

 

 

But I think you may be conflating an Alpina car with an Alpina-prepared racing car.

 

I'd recommend, assuming you do create a "tribute" Alpina-prepared racing car, as in your photo, that you ALWAYS refer to it as a tribute, facsimile, or whatever, as very bad words will be heaped upon you if you pretend for one second that it is the real thing!

 

Good luck and regards,

 

Steve

 

Edited March 21, 2017 by Conserv

[eurotrash]

Alpina was just an aftermarket tuning company that took cars, modded them, and resold or raced them. If I have my facts straight, these particular cars had actual VIN tags from Alpina to show the build number. (There was a blank on ebay recently)  Or, you could take your there, pick your parts from their catalog, and have varying levels of work done, From a full race build, all the way down to just a badge on the dash.

 

So you can do what ever you want, just as if you were there in the '70s. It's all just lore at this point, like Shelby is to Ford, MR. Norm's to Mopar, Yenko to Chevy, CMW to Mini, etc. 

 

 Probably mostly like Mr. Norm's.  

http://www.mrnorms.com/new/sport_club/bio.html

 

 

Edited March 21, 2017 by eurotrash

[AceAndrew]

Alan,  

 

I enjoy the 2002 community a lot BECAUSE of the very accommodating nature of it's enthusiasts.  The overwhelming majority of us are able to enjoy each other's cars/choices without casting disdain or judgement.  I would be shocked if you would EVER receive negative feedback from a 2002 guy.  "Is it a real Alpina?" is a mind-numbing question you will only get from someone who doesn't know 2002's very well.

 

Historically speaking, very few early "Alpina" cars have any documentation you would expect (plaques, factory records, etc.).  A set of shocks/springs from them could constitute for having the badge put in place.

 

If you are building the car for yourself, and are transparent in regards to your actions, then I see no problems.

Edited March 21, 2017 by AceAndrew

[alan717]

4 minutes ago, Conserv said:

It's probably not an Alpina unless the car went to Bovensiepen and had Alpina make some mods.  The mods could be as minor as some suspension mods: the customer dictated what he/she wanted.  There was a recent BAT sale of a 1972 2002tii touring model that was bona fide Alpina car, replete with documents showing a new 2002 being sent to Alpina, moderately modified -- primarily suspension, brakes, and rims -- and then sold to the initial owner.  Note: it looks nothing like your Colorado and black sample!

 

But I think you may be conflating an Alpina car with an Alpina-prepared racing car.

 

I'd recommend, assuming you do create a "tribute" Alpina-prepared racing car, as in your photo, that you ALWAYS refer to it as a tribute, facsimile, or whatever, as very bad words will be heaped upon you if you pretend for one second that it is the real thing!

 

Good luck and regards,

 

Steve

 

 Thanks, so if I want to copy that car that is pictured  I would be able to put the Alpina graphics on it but if someone asked me if it was a real Alpina I would say of course not it's just a copy/clone.

thanks everyone  i'm off to go find an Alpina dashboard plaque so I can install it in my garaged car today and make pretend. ??

[Conserv]

9 hours ago, eurotrash said:

Alpina was just an aftermarket tuning company that took cars, modded them, and resold or raced them. If I have my facts straight, these particular cars had actual VIN tags from Alpina to show the build number. (There was a blank on ebay recently)  Or, you could take your there, pick your parts from their catalog, and have varying levels of work done, From a full race build, all the way down to just a badge on the dash.

 

So you can do what ever you want, just as if you were there in the '70s. It's all just lore at this point, like Shelby is to Ford, MR. Norm's to Mopar, Yenko to Chevy, CMW to Mini, etc. 

 

  

 

Jason,

 

My recollection is that Alpina only became an actual legal "manufacturer" of cars after the 2002 era -- probably shortly after -- and it was only with that legal designation that they could assign VIN numbers.  They might have registered Alpina numbers prior to the "manufacturer era", which continues today, of course, but any registration numbers were not tantamount to new VIN numbers.

 

I'm betting and hoping that markmac will jump in soon and correct my errors!

 

Best regards,

 

Steve

 

Edited March 22, 2017 by Conserv

[zinz]

Yes... I share the dream of building a pigcheek Alpina tribute car someday.  ( I shoulda bought/finished Koupe's car...grrrr...) 

 

Without an Alpina build plate or solid provenance... well, it's just an '02 with Alpina parts on it and that is okay.  Miller Norburn and Hardy&Beck sold those aftermarket pieces on the open market and you can find cars with those pieces still today.  Collectors treasure those pieces and we see Alpina "tribute" cars just about every year. There are lots of repro Alpina parts and very few folks know the difference.  (I have been fooled plenty of times but FAQ gurus have helped me out before I've spent my hard-earned $$).  

 

Good info here:

 

I'm with Joel and the others... build it as well as you can and enjoy it.  Haters will hate, but most of us will appreciate your efforts.

 

Ed Z

 

Edited March 21, 2017 by zinz

[eurotrash]

26 minutes ago, Conserv said:

 

Jason,

 

My recollection is that Alpina only became an actual legal "manufacturer" of cars after the 2002 era -- probably shortly after -- and it was only with that legal designation that they could assign VIN numbers.  They might have registered Alpina numbers prior to the "manufacturer era", which continues today, of course, but any registration numbers were not tantamount to new VIN numbers.

 

I'm betting and hoping that marcmac will jump in soon and correct my errors!

 

Best regards,

 

Steve

 

 

 

 I was more thinking along the lines of an Alpina number plate, much like Baur. 

[Conserv]

27 minutes ago, eurotrash said:

 

 

 I was more thinking along the lines of an Alpina number plate, much like Baur. 

 

Yep!

 

Regards,

 

Steve

 

[tisalover]

The Alpina performance BMW modification company was started providing weber carburetor conversions for the early BMW M 10 four-door sedan's. Kind of humble beginnings.

 

I think you have a great idea, and you should build the car you want and drive the wheels off of it. A few originals that do exist are in museums and private collections, and rarely at the track  unless some lucky wealthy serious car guy or guy with vision 30 years ago has purchased them. I used to see Porsche RSK 60  models on the Pennsylvania Hillclimb circuit when I was a child in the 60s and 70s. (Roger Penske won the giants despair Hillclimb in around 1958 or 1959 in one) They are now over $1 million cars, and very few see the race track.  There was a 904 at a recent vintage Grand Prix I entered.

The owner was kind enough to let me sit in his 904. He had purchased it many years ago (when a normal guy still could) and truly loved the car.  My Tisa cost $1200 in 1988. You could also buy a nice TII with performance goodies on it for about that price when I was in college in Santa Barbara. Unfortunately the golden days of cheap classic sports cars are long over.

But you could, now,  build for instance a Beck 904 replica with Porsche 911 SC running gear and scare the fecal debris out of yourself because it would be so incredibly, hideously fast.

 

Have fun, "you get a chance to try in the twinkling of an eye in 80 years with luck or even less."

I encourage you not to take the judgments of society too seriously.

The 2002 F a Q is a great group, but the majority of the herd(forgive one rude generalization please) , the brand new BMW zymol loving modern Sheeple would not appreciate or understand our obsession with these little boxy little four-door sedan's.

There is a funky old book called "Zen and the Art of motorcycle maintenance." This particular 2002 crowd relishes working on their machinery, improving it, and driving it hard. That is a real, in-depth and meaningful relationship.

You have a great idea, run with it. Fight apathy with commitment.

Or if you don't want the stigmata of a Alpina badge--- look at the 2002 motorsports link in these august pages. There are many super cool 2002s run over the years. Build your own pig cheeked super hot rod! Yee Ha!  Go ahead and put the 411 gears in it I dare you. It will be some of the most fun you've ever had with your clothes on up to about 100 miles an hour.

If you look at Dan, mojojoys, BMW 2002 in Bristol, and red with Borranni wheels you may say  -that it is one of the most beautiful 2002's -you ever saw in your life. 

 

Best regards, Peter

 

P.S. I just found these two pictures of my own first performance BMW experiment a 1602 with 411 gears, BMW 2000 TIlux motor and 40 mm webers. I then put an old Torn Austin Healey 100 4 blue leather seat in it. Please note that I routed the exhaust out under the drivers door so I could hear it better. My Talbot mirror illness had already begun.I was 18, it was the beginning of a very slippery slope. 

[zinz]

I think Peter just nailed it...

 

Ed

[eurotrash]

I fashioned VW flares to look more Aplina period and follow the stock wheel opening shapes, and then shortened the knee trim to keep it factory fresh...   So its all up to imagination..