To end the 2022 year with a bang, I had the honor to do a photo shoot with one of the rare wagons on American soil. That said rare wagon is this super cool ALPINA B3 3.2 Touring owned by doctor_tran. Before we get into the details, YES! This is the same wagon reviewed by Doug DeMuro in his YouTube channel. So many cool factors about this wagon that I can go on and on… To make it brief, the wagon is based on the E36 Touring; a platform that was never offered here in the US. Secondly, ALPINA only made 89 units of the B3 3.2 cars worldwide. Thirdly, this wagon was painted in ALPINA Blue; a color that was exclusive to ALPINA and cannot be custom ordered through BMW. And lastly, I learned from the owner that this car was sold new in Japan, which then was relocated back to Europe, and it is now living in the USA.
An awesome photo shoot location was needed for an awesome wagon because I wanted to capture the special aspects of the wagon. Palos Verdes was suggested by doctor_tran and I agreed to it immediately! Fortunately, weather was also on our side: starting the morning with a thin layer of fog and gradually transitioned into a beautiful sunny day.
Doctor_tran has an obsession for ALPINA cars and LUCK was definitely on his side when searching for these rare beauties. Besides this B3 3.2, he also has another ALPINA E36 Touring that’s even rarer (currently undergoing restoration process)! For now, enjoy these photos of the B3 3.2 and enjoy the story behind doctor_tran’s wagon ownership!
Let’s get to it!
WHY A WAGON?
I always preferred practical cars that are somewhat under the radar. Regardless of how rare or special a car is, I want to drive it and take it on road trips. The wagon format really helps with carrying people and stuff.
Did you consider a different WAGON instead of this one?
My dream car is an ALPINA B8 4.6 Touring (E36). I bought this ALPINA B3 3.2 Touring because I thought it would be the best I could do. I was living in Europe in 2020 and kept an eye on the market for ALPINA wagons. Plenty of 3.0 Tourings for sale, but I wanted to aim for at least the 3.2. I found this car in the Netherlands and bought it after checking it out. A year later, I did end up finding a B8 4.6 Touring for sale, so I bought that one as well.
What was your original objective with your car and has that objective changed?
Original objective was to restore the car and do a manual transmission swap. The B3 3.2 could be optioned with a 6 speed Getrag 420G (same as Euro E36 M3). After acquiring all the parts needed to do the swap correctly, I found my B8 4.6 touring, so I decided to keep the car stock with its 5-speed shiftable automatic.
What style would you say best describes your car?
M cars are wearing a tracksuit while ALPINA’s are wearing a tuxedo.
Who assisted in the planning/building/modding of your car?
I’ve owned several E36’s over the years so I am very familiar with these cars.
What do you feel makes your car unique/special in your eyes?
Besides being 1 of 89 B3 3.2 Tourings built, it’s the color. ALPINA blue is the best color ALPINA offered and it’s not available on any other BMW.
What is your favorite part/feature/function of the car?
Besides the wagon format, drivetrain. The US M3 only made 240HP. The ALPINA B3 3.2 made 265HP and was very smooth and torquey.
If you could pick one thing you aren’t satisfied with about your car, what would it be?
Seems nitpicking, but it would be the lack of color matched rocker panels. It wasn’t until BMW build date 11/1996 that E36’s received color matched rocker panels from the factory. The BMW build date on this car was 5/1996 so that’s why it didn’t come with them. I’ve been tempted to retrofit them, but a proper retrofit requires drilling into the body. I’ll keep the car as it came from the factory for now.
What has been the biggest obstacle you’ve faced while building this car?
ALPINA specific parts are still available from Europe, but it takes up to 2 months to arrive due to shipping and weight
What’s one word that best describes your car?
Classy.
What is your final goal with this car?
Like all of my cars, I rotate them into daily driver duty. My B8 4.6 has a 6-speed manual so for now I’m keeping my B3 3.2 an automatic for some variety.
