My Dad was always a Road & Track reader when I was growing up, and he used to bring home his latest issue after a business trip for me to read. I vividly remember this March 1991 issue because soon after I read it, I went down to Trump's Hobbies in town and placed a special order for the . I painted it black on black because I have no skills building models and it turned out awesome! I wish I had a picture.

Paul Frere was a fantastic writer and an accomplished race car driver. He was well respected in his field and here are some of his quotes from the article:

[...] but the 535i-based B10 Biturbo is surely the most impressive of them all: a comfortable 4-door that blends Rolls-Royce silence with Testarossa performance, with road manner to match.

The B10 reached a maximum speed of 181 mph. At such speeds, the car feels entirely stable, with no suggestion of the front end getting light or any tendency to wander.

Thanks to the low inertia of the two small turbo chargers and to the electronic wastegate control, response is nearly immediate n al most any circumstance.

Ever since reading that article I've wanted to have a real Alpina. I'm going to have to keep an even closer eye on the classifieds having reread that article again! Please feel free to leave a comment with your Alpina experiences!

Here are a few e34 Alpina videos for you to snack on tonight:

dc

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Beautiful 1983 BMW e21 320i For Sale in Oregon - Paul went so far as to say he was almost considering buying this car himself, but was instead inspired to continue the work on his own classic BMW after seeing Richard’s car! Considering he’s only asking $3200, someone should snap this up cheap!

1983 Alpina B9 #312 For Sale in Florida - The $14.5k buy-it-now option seems like a pretty good deal. There are very few real Alpina’s in this country anyway, and this one still has almost all of it’s original details. While I’m not an experienced collector, I have to imagine that 5-10 years from now, this car will have appreciated considerably. Then again, with over 100k miles and an approachable entry price, maybe it would be better to enjoy immediately. Can you imagine the response at your next BMW club day when you roll up in this?!

1985 Honda VFR400 NC24 - First things first, this is not an 85. According to this Wikipedia article, the NC24 wasn’t introduced until 1987, and this bike definitely sports all the important features of the later NC24 model. But when I first saw the listing as an 85, it made me wonder if the 25 year rule works the same way it does for classic cars in the U.S. - no import or registration issues with models not previously imported. Anyone know for sure? Also, was there a Rothmans edition of the NC24? It’s a cool bike for $3500 either way though!

Irish Green Porsches for St. Patrick's Day - As you can probably gather by now, I think the 912 is definitely the better value; especially at $15k! Of course a 912 is not a substitute for a 911. But it’s also not to be dismissed as anything less than a fantastic sports car. Add the fact that this one has an expensive rebuilt motor assembled with such focus and dedication, you can tell that this car is at least 85% of the experience of a 911 of the same era.

Two Very Low Mileage M3’s, $60,000 Each! - Not to play that overused ‘economy’ angle yet again, but these seem like high prices to me in today’s market. On the other hand the owners clearly know the rarity of their cars and are counting on educated and wealthy buyers. Who knows when we’ll see examples like these for sale again.

1986 GSX-R 750R Limited (GSXR750 RG) - Don’t you just love homologation specials?! The very best of everything and no expense spared. And when they’re nearly 25 years old and never raced, AND hardly even ridden, they’re truly a rare find. This one is currently at $12k (appears reserve has been met) with about 4 days to go.

1988 BMW e30 M3 in Diamondschwartz - The owner even has a picture of him doing a compression test on the motor. Assuming the car needs a few things here and there and you had to drop two or three grand into it right away; could be a a really nice car in a pretty desirable color.

Lovely and Original Alpine White 1991 BMW e30 M3 For Sale with 64k miles - You know me, I’m a sucker for low miles. Make sure the maintenance has been tended to with a thorough pre-purchase inspection by a qualified BMW technician. This car is already over $17k, reserve not met. With 3 days to go, make your predictions!

1993 Honda CBR400RR For Sale in San Fran Area - It has the all important title, but with that kind of mileage is $5k too high? Leave a comment with your experience.

Porsche 996 Prices are Dropping - It’s no secret the 996 is not one of my favorite Porsche 911’s. That said, I’m a big fan of the Boxster of the same generation; and when the the 996 and Boxster suddenly share the same price point, well let’s be serious, which would you really rather have? My thoughts exactly.

1985 Yamaha RZ500 with Clean U.S. Title - Wouldn’t hurt to have a description on this listing, especially with the high opening bid of $12,500. This one is a bit higher than other RZ500’s listed on this blog, but the pictures sure do look good! 4 days left, bid now!

Not 1, Not 2, But 3 Wes Cooley Replica GS1000S Suzuki’s For Sale! - $4900 doesn’t really seem that bad for such a cool and historic bike. I got up close and personal with a GS1000S at the Barber Motorsports Park Museum earlier this year, and it was a standout for sure!

Stay tune for some more sweet news about where I've been hanging out other than on dancrouchblog.com...

dc

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Without further ado, here are the catch up links to GermanCarsForSaleBlog and RareSportBikesForSale:

1993 Honda NSR250 MC21 SE For Sale - At only $5500, this would be a cool addition for the track or the weekend backroads!

Low Miles 1988 BMW M6 For Sale in Montana - $22.5k sounds like a pretty good deal with this kind of mileage, and documented maintenance and upgrades. And the blue on gray with the M5 rims… Yum!

1985 Yamaha RZ500 For Sale in San Diego - At $7900, this falls right in line with other RZ500’s listed previously.

2001 Porsche Carrera Cabrio - Too Cheap to be True? - So why the skeptism? 996’s of any variation start in the high teens, and those have at least twice the mileage of this car. But heaven forbid this is the real deal… well I just can’t believe it is, but it’s fun to imagine.

A Pair of Ducati 900SS Superlight’s For Sale - These are pretty rare bikes and I think it’s an interesting opportunity for a prospective buyer to consider a well worn example or the museum piece.

1993 Ducati 888 SPO: Yep Another One!! - With a $10888 asking (clever), this is one of the more expensive triple eights to be listed on this blog. While most Ducatisti will agree this where they should be, I think this seller may have a long wait before finding a buyer considering what other examples here in the states have been going for.

Two More Titled MC 21 NSR250 Honda’s For Sale in California - Judging from the pictures alone, I like the Rothmans replica better from the point of aesthetics alone. For around five grand, neither one seems like that bad a deal considering they both have titles!

Is This The Cheapest Alpina For Sale in the U.S.? 1984 BMW Alpina 2.8 B6 For Sale - Now I’m sure “Big Ron” is a reputable guy and all, but I don’t expect this car to be a real B6 considering it’s condition and thorough listing on Craigslist. But if it is a Euro car, and it looks like it could be, and it has Alpina pieces, it’s probably worth that much in parts anyway. Could actually be a really cool basis for a project car. And heaven forbid it’s a real Alpina… It’s probably the cheapest Alpina for sale in the country.

1994 Honda CB400 Super Four - Now granted that’s 47,845 miles and no title. But with all the 2 strokes that have been showing up with titles, surely it can’t be that hard to pull off. This would be such a cool in-town commuter bike!

1990 Ducati 851 Loaded With Expensive Upgrades - It’s sacrilege to even suggest it, but parting this bike could probably turn a tidy profit. Of course that would be a shame because this bike looks so well sorted, and for $5k it’d be a real pleasure to the ride balls off of it!

1991 Porsche 911 Carrera 2 For Sale in New Mexico - I’m having a tough time trying to decide between a Boxster and a 964. My thinking lately is that there are far more Boxsters than 964’s, and that 964 prices might be more stable over the next couple years as a result.

4 Special Edition Ducati Race Replicas For Sale Right Now - I’m really not knowledgable about the values of these bikes. But they are obviously collector examples that will command some premium in the market. Which one would you pick as best value?

1991 Honda NSR250 MC21 For Sale in Vegas Baby - These are getting cheap enough that it’s getting harder and harder to make excuses about why there isn’t one in my garage. Obviously with the sheer numbers of 2 strokes listed on this site, you know I’m a fan. Talk me out of a gray market 2 stroke… or can you at these prices?

2001 M Coupe For Sale in Virginia - 27k miles and an asking of $24k? What could possibly be wrong with this car? I like all the modifications, but they do tend to devalue a car in the eyes of enthusiast buyers. And it also has that terrible two tone interior, red and black leather. But at this price, I’d consider it a bargain purchase and have the leather dyed!

1991 Suzuki RGV 250 VJ22 For Sale in California - $6k doesn’t sound too bad, especially considering it’s plated. And are those Arrow pipes? Yum!

BMW 2002 with Dual Webers, 5 speed, LSD, and Genuine Alpina Wheels - For the asking price, and the pile of rare parts that come with it, this could be a great little driver, a potential fixer-upper, or maybe even a weekend racer project. In any case, it’ll be a load of fun!

1984 Volkswagen GTI For Sale: Clean, Original, and Affordable - As a long time MK1 and MK2 VW fan, I’d have to say it’s been since high school since I saw a Rabbit GTi this clean and original. While $4500 may seem like a lot to some, good luck finding one this nice for less.

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Do you have a model you'd like me to keep an eye out for? Leave a note in the comments and I'll check it out!

dc

1968 Porsche 912 For Sale in Bahama Yellow: The owner of this car has dropped the price $1100 in less than a month’s time and would seem to indicate a motivated seller. While the motor isn’t the original, it is rebuilt. And this isn’t going to be a concours car anyway. His website has many articles on the model and the classified ad on Pelican Parts is refreshingly honest. Personally if I were buying, I’d keep it as is if the rust was livable and drive the balls off it!

1989 Honda VFR400 NC30 in Alabama: Interesting for sale posting to say the least. But the bike looks really sharp and clean. He goes on to explain that it’s titled and tagged in Alabama.

1991 Porsche 964 Carrera RUF RCT Conversion: A really rare opportunity without question. But only serious collectors are likely to get excited considering the $69900 buy-it-now listed on the ad.

1989 Yamaha FZR 400 For Sale in Vegas: The FZR400 has an aluminum frame compared to the steel frame of the FZR600, which is cheaper and heavier. Many FZR400’s were snapped up by club racers and never to be seen on the street again. But apparently there are more out there ready for street duty than I thought!

1999 Alpina B12 6.0 For Sale in Spain: The BMW e38 really is a fine platform and I can only imagine what the Alpina version brings to the table. According to the Alpina Archive website entry on the B12, it’ll do a standing quarter mile faster than a Ferrari 355!

Beautiful and Original 1986 Suzuki GSX-R 750 For Sale: The red and black is a really stunning combination and I can’t say the last time I saw an 86 this clean and original. And it’s not like these are going to become easier to find…

1988 BMW e28 M5 For Sale with only 41k Miles!: In the U.S., the e28 M5 really is more rare than the e30 M3. Can you imagine what a 44k mile e30 M3 would have for an asking?!

1998 Ducati Superbike 996RS: They Don’t Get Much More Rare Than This!: Collector race cars and bikes are not really an arena I’m well versed in, but one thing is for sure: It’s a very rare machine anyway, and it’s been ridden by Troy Bayliss. It’d look great parked under the Christmas tree I’m sure!

2000 BMW e39 M5 For Sale with only 4k Miles!: I’m just saying, if my lotto ticked gets punched this week, I’d take this over the newest version. If I remain mortal without the winnings, I might still think a well looked after used e39 M5 might be in the cards considering they now hover in the low 20’s for asking price.

Two Porsche 944’s For Sale: Less Than 50k Miles Combined!: I realize the prices are steep, but the pictures really seem to demonstrate two really clean and original cars. Those interior pictures could be from a brochure. Considering these cars are practically new, they could be considered a cheap means to nearly new Porsche ownership compared to the MSRP of today’s new Porsches!

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Now it is time to take my career more seriously, and that means making a transition from passive enthusiast to eventual full-time automotive and motorcycling, web and blogging specialist. I'm a bit premature in the announcement of this plan, but I want to keep dancrouchblog.com readers in the loop!

The most immediate and visible change is that I am splitting the topics that are most popular at dancrouchblog.com into their own blogs: German Cars For Sale Blog and Rare SportBikes For Sale. If you're a fan of dancrouchblog.com, you'll love these two blogs! They both follow the familiar "best of for sale" listings and resource guides you're used to at this site, but both have much nicer .rss and email subscription options than I have utilized before. I hope you'll consider subscribing. If not, don't worry, I'll still be highlighting these new blogs on dancrouchblog.com on a regular basis.

These two blogs are the first to be part of my new automotive blog network, MotoringBlogs. My hope for the network is two fold:

1. Provide greater focus and detail to the automotive and motorcycling niche that the enthusiast searches for. The ability to provide more than a highlight reel or summary of information, and instead cater to the intense and educated enthusiast with detailed and opinionated editorial blog content.
2. Build a network of authors, websites, and enthusiast readers that grow together to gain access and knowledge via an entertaining and informative blogging style to address sports cars, motorcycles, amateur motorsports, and the latest in breaking industry news.

The MotoringBlogs concept is in it's infancy, but will grow quickly. More details will follow in the coming months. I will of course keep dancrouchblog.com readers informed first!

I hope you'll find MotorBlogs to be an even better resource than dancrouchblog.com has been and I welcome your feedback in the comments below.

dc

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I originally posted this Alpina as a car I spotted for sale on eBay. I noted the condition wasn't perfect but it was an Alpina B9 for sale in the U.S. Todd recently emailed me the following:

I just want to drop a quick note to show you how the 85 B9 Alpina that you featured in June 06 turned out. The car won the BMWCCA Peachtree Chapter Concourse in 07 and actually turned out to be a great find. The original paint was reconditioned and the original leather interior was salvaged as
well. The car is now undergoing a complete undercarriage detail along with reconditioning the worn suspension and mechanical components.

I have attached a few pictures of the car as in the ebay add along with current pictures.

[...]

I was really worried when I first saw the car and thought it actually looked better in the pictures but I had to tell myself that it was an Alpina and not just a BMW. I was preparing to do a repaint and had removed all the trim and bumpers when I decided to try and salvage the original paint. What did I have to loose? Anyway, I was very surprised and pleased with the way it transformed.

{I'm having issues making the Flickr gallery work, so I'm just going to post all the pics }

A dancrouchblog.com success story, and for an Alpina no less! Congrats on your purchase and resurrection Todd! The car looks fantastic!

dc

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1987 ALPINA B10 (E28) 535i #70 of 77 produced on eBayMotors

quote from eBay listing:

A VERY RARE OPPORTUNITY TO OWN A FACTORY ALPINA B10 E28 BODY BMW. THERE WAS ONLY 77 UNITS PRODUCED DURING THE PRODUCTION RUN OF 1985 TO 1987, THIS IS PRODUCTION UNIT #70. THE CAR HAS NO RUST,IN ORIGINAL CONDITION, ALL ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT. BMW PAINT OF THIS ERA WAS NOTORIOUS FOR THE CLEAR COAT TO CHECK THEREFORE THE CAR HAS BEEN RESPRAYED BY THE PREVIOUS OWNER AND THE ALPINA GRAPHICS ARE ALL CORRECTLY IN PLACE. THE QUALITY OF THE PAINT WORK IS EXCELLENT AS YOU'LL SEE BY THE PICS.

Damn. So sexy!

This car looks like damn good value for $16.5k. Too bad it's not coming to the U.S. legally because it's not 25 years old yet. At this price though, maybe it's worth buying and storing for 5 years and then title it. "Hello, home equity loan office? Yes, I need to cash out!"

Check out the specs on the Unofficial Alpina Pages.

dc

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1982 Alpina C1 2.3 For Sale on eBay

This car has the following Alpina parts installed: 323i-based 6-cylinder engine, limited-slip finned-cover differential, front and rear sway bars, 7Jx15" wheels & wheel caps, rear rubber strakes (mud guards), front fiberglass spoiler, rear rubber spoiler, dash plaque (no. 3-2108), 4 (somewhat worn) floormats, dead pedal, front grille emblem, L&R trunk emblems, decal on front spoiler. The following parts could be from Alpina but cannot easily be verified as such: springs, shocks and struts, extra gauge cluster on dash, close-ratio 5-speed transmission, early mechanical fuel injection system, headers, center muffler, twin rear mufflers, manual (non-power) steering gearbox. The following parts are definitely not from Alpina: steering wheel (needing recovering) and shift knob (although owner has access to used Alpina steering wheel & knob which are correct for this car, which could be substituted at buyer's request), seats (Sparco driver's seat, and Recaro passenger seat), US (MPH) instrument cluster. The following stock Euro-version E21 parts are of course installed on the car: front and rear bumpers (currently painted gloss black, along with the center grille), grey "basket weave" fabric door panels and seats, rear skirt-mounted license plate bracket, manual windows, power mirrors, manual sunroof.

Check out other Alpina cars I have listed previously.

dc

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1979 BMW Alpina B6 e21 on Roadfly ($28k, PA):

Clean, well documented, one of a kind car. One of only 533 built. Signed by famous German Racer Hans Stuck. This is production number 062 of this true Alpina B6 2.8 (E-21).

Remember this car? I did, and so did long time dancrouchblog.com reader, Neil, who dug up these 2005 links for this car that sold two years ago for $28k (Thanks Neil!)

1991 BMW Alpina B12 e32 For Sale on eBay ($23k US, Vancouver, Canada)

''BMW's Flagship Supercar'' #139 of 305 ever produced [...] professionally appraised at $65,000 {CAN}.

Being sold by 360Autosports (Importers), I just love this car. It's so austere and understated. Perfect Q-Ship!

dc

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1972 Alpina 2002 Touring on eBay

If you watch this blog regularly, you know I'm a 2002 fan. But $48k? Really?!

dc

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