The Sport Wagon Enthusiast

 Alpina B8 4.6 Touring

Rare Blast from the Past

Venerable BMW tuner Alpina has been creating refined and properly fast proper-adorned automobiles for decades. With the recent slew of four-hundred-plus horsepower wagons, it’s easy to forget that the 5-doors of yesteryear were quite potent. Case and point: The Alpina B8 4.6 Touring. Start with an E36-series BMW Touring, shoehorn a 4.6 liter V8, add a six-speed manual transmission and lots of other BMW “M” division bits, and you’ve got one hell of a wagon for 1996.

With 333hp and 346 lb-ft of torque, the Alpina B8 4.6 Touring launched to sixty in 5 seconds, and screamed (with a V8 snarl) to over 175 mph. The only thing better about its performance was the exclusivity. While over 200 B8’s rolled out of Alpina’s factory, only 27 were Tourings (the others being coupes, sedans, and cabriolets). Styling is certainly…of the era, but all sport wagon enthusiasts should pay homage to this blast from the past.