1998 BMW Alpina B8 Wagon on Bring a TrailerBring a Trailer (Bring a Trailer)Alpina is now fully integrated into BMW, but in its heyday, the brand stood for handcrafted excellence.This B8 Touring infuses the lively E36 3-series chassis with bored-out V-8 power.With wagon practicality, a manual gearbox, and head-turning livery, this Alpina checks all the boxes.Much like AMG, Alpina is now completely under the umbrella of its corporate partner and has perhaps lost some of the freedom it once enjoyed. Pre-merger Alpinas felt wonderfully special and handmade, and happily, many of them are still on the road today.Bring a Trailer (Bring a Trailer)This V-8-powered wagon for sale on Bring a Trailer (which, like Car and Driver, is part of Hearst Autos) illustrates just how incredible a true Alpina can be. It's a 1998 Alpina B8 4.6 Touring. You could think of it as a 3-series with a 5-series V-8 stuffed into it, but that completely overlooks the amount of engineering that went into building this car. Still, that is a pretty compelling recipe. Let's dive in.Bring a Trailer (Bring a Trailer)In the 1990s, BMW's partnership with Alpina went beyond merely supplying bare chassis bodies in white. All varieties of the B8—coupe, convertible, sedan, wagon—required more than three dozen modifications at the factory so that the V-8 would actually fit. Not only that, but BMW had to cast a completely new block, since the V-8's specially coated bores meant that Alpina couldn't just bore out the engine using conventional means.Bring a Trailer (Bring a Trailer)In fact, fitting the 540i's V-8 into an E36 chassis was so complicated that BMW itself declared it impossible. At least for mass production, that was right. Alpina, however, had the luxury of being able to charge a premium for hand-built excellence, and the B8 that resulted is one of the finest machines to ever come out of Buchloe, Bavaria.AdvertisementAdvertisementConsider that this Touring combines the power-to-weight ratio of an E39 M5, the superior rack-and-pinion steering feel of an E36, a nimbler chassis than the E39 yet with wagon practicality, and incredible rarity. Only 27 of the Touring variants were made (the convertible version is slightly rarer), and this is reportedly the only one in dark Madeira Violet purple.Bring a Trailer (Bring a Trailer)Even with the stripes and those signature 20-spoke wheels, here in a diameter of 17 inches, this is very much one of those "if you know, you know" cars. With no badges out back and a discreet exhaust treatment, only a subtle rumble of V-8 will tip off onlookers that there's something special going on here under the hood.Speaking of which, the car's 4.6-liter BMW-sourced V-8 is good for 333 horsepower and produces 260 pound-feet of torque at only 1000 rpm. But peak power isn't the point with Alpina engines; it's the torque delivery, and the B8's is gloriously flexible. There's always a muscular response from the throttle in any gear, and for autobahn storming, the top speed is over 175 mph.The suspension features Bilstein dampers, and the brakes are M3 out back, custom-fitted calipers and rotors up front. Stability and traction control are standard. The transmission is a six-speed manual from Getrag.Simply put: This purple E36 wagon is some of Alpina's finest work.The auction ends on May 19.You Might Also LikeGift Guide: Best Ride-On Electric Cars for KidsFuture Cars Worth Waiting For: 2025–2029