# The 2002, Bavaria, and Alpina



## postoak (Mar 5, 2002)

Will someone please take the time to explain to me (a BMW newbie) what these are? -- the years they were made, differences, opinions about them, etc.? 

I would have thought all this was already discussed here but I've spent an hour doing searches and couldn't come up with much. 

I searched the entire Web, also, and kind of gathered that maybe the Alpina is an aftermarket model -- is that right?


----------



## bmw325 (Dec 19, 2001)

Huh. I'm surprised you didn't turn up more with your internet searches. 

I'll try and give a brief overview:
-The 2002 was the culmination of a line of cars that BMW called the "neue klasse" or "new class". These cars were originally introduced in the mid-60s, and were BMW's last hope for economic recovery-- they were doing quite poorly at the time. The first new class car was a 4 door sedan called the 1500. It had a 1.5 liter 4 cylinder. Bigger (4 cylinder) engines were subsequently installed, and in 1968 (I think), a 2 door version called the 1600-2 was introduced. The name was later simplified to 1602 and an 1802 was also created (with a 1.8 liter engine). The 4 door version got a 2.0 liter engine and was called the 2000. US BMW importer Max Hoffman told BMW AG to install the big 4 cylinder into the 2 door chassis and bring it to the US. After much arguing and disagreement, they did just that. The 2002 was born, and was introduced to the US in 1970 (I think). It subsequently got a fuel-injected option, and this model was called the 2002tii. Its interesting that BMW chose to use the letter i for the English "injection" rather than e for the German "einspritzer" (as Mercedes did). The 2002 ran through the 1976 model year and was replaced with the first 3 series, the 320i. Post US 1974 models got bigger bumpers and square tail lamps (versus the round tail lamps of older models), and this caused a lot of controversy (think z4 and e65 now). The neue class cars were arguably the first "sport sedans" and cemented BMW's reputation as a builder of high performance, durable, reliable practical cars. It was quite extraordinary in the early 70s to have a small 4 cylinder sedan that could out-accelrate, out-handle and out-brake most of the sports and muscle cars of the day. The design of the Neue class cars (by Wilhelm Hofmeister) introduced many of BMW's trademark cues such as the C pillar kink (known as the Hofmeister kink).

The "Bavaria" was BMW's big sedan in the US (it was replaced by the first 7 series in 1976 I think). Although in size and looks, it seems more like the 5 series precursor. In the rest of the world, it was known as the 2500 or 2800 depending upon the engine. You'll also hear it referred to as the "Big 6" or the "E3" These cars were the first BMW's to use BMW's now-famous inline 6 engines. The M54 engine in your car is a descendant of the M20 (?), found in these cars. The Bavaria moniker was another Max Hoffman inspiration and the badge proved to be popular in the rest of the world (especially Germany) where people rebadged various cars with the Bavaria badge. The 3.0 CS coupe (the ancestor of the 6 series), was spawned from this sedan. These cars didn't sell very well in the US due to their relatively high price and lack of reputation compared with Mercedes in that market segment. I think they're very elegant looking-- but like all 70s BMWs they're very rust prone.

Alpina is an after-market company that builds specially modified versions of regular-series BMWs. The founder's name is Burkhard Bovenspein (I may have butchered that), and was founded in the mid-60s. They had another business before modifying BMWs, but I don't remember off the top of my head. Over the years, BMW and Alpina have grown very close-- so much so that BMW builds some Alpina models for Alpina-- they install Alpina parts on the regular production line. Alpina engines are hand-built at Alpina's facility in Bavaria (don't remember the name of the town). Alpina cars are badged as an "Alpina", and have unique body work, modified engines, and interiors. They are considered (atleat in Germany) to be their own manufacturer-- so Alpina cars get different VINs for example. The basic Alpina philosophy could probably be summed up as comfortable performance. Their cars tend to be less high strung than BMW's own M-cars. Their suspensions aren't quite as tight, and their engines are a bit more torquey. You're also more likely to find an Alpina car with an automatic transmission than an M car. I'm sure you can find plenty of pictures of various Alpina models if you do a search on google. Most BMW models since the 70s have had Alpina versions. Alpina model names usually begin with a B. I think the current 3 series Alpina is known as a B6. If you want to know more, you can ask our resident Alpina experts- Alex Bauman or VinceTopasBlue. They have not been officially sold in the US until recently with the advent of the Alpina Z8--if all goes well, they hope to do more business here.

So much for "brief". I get carried away talking about BMW history.


----------



## Alex Baumann (Dec 19, 2001)

robg, thanks for the writeup :thumbup:

Just a small correction, the Alpina 3 Series is called B3 

More info can be found here


----------



## bmw325 (Dec 19, 2001)

Alex Baumann said:


> *robg, thanks for the writeup :thumbup:
> 
> Just a small correction, the Alpina 3 Series is called B3
> 
> More info can be found here *


Thanks. I never get Alpina models straight.


----------



## Mr Paddle.Shift (Dec 19, 2001)

Good job, robg! 

That would be "Bovensiepen". I had to practice saying that before I took some courage to introduce myself to Andreas at the LA AutoShow this year. 

And ALPINA was in the typewriter business. Occasionally, you might find the word processors on Ebay.


----------



## postoak (Mar 5, 2002)

robg - thank you very much! That's just the kind of information I wanted -- and now we have it in a bimmerfest thread.

BTW - it was *this* thread that got me interested in all this:

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=21246&highlight=trivia

That's a beautiful car, and that picture is now my wallpaper!


----------



## Kaz (Dec 21, 2001)

Alpina








Totally different Alpina








:rofl:


----------



## bmw325 (Dec 19, 2001)

postoak said:


> *robg - thank you very much! That's just the kind of information I wanted -- and now we have it in a bimmerfest thread.
> 
> BTW - it was this thread that got me interested in all this:
> 
> ...


Cool. I somehow missed that thread. I've never heard of that BMW before. It does seem to resemble the BMW-Glas cars of the mid-60s-- but its something different. INteresting. I like that Bavaria picture too-- very 70s.


----------



## Clarke (Oct 21, 2002)

The 2002 was also available in ti(dual twinchoke solex carbs an 5 speed) the Bavaria was sold alongside the 2500 and 3.0 sedans as a slightly decontented alternative and very popular here.The 2800 and 3.0 CS were based on the 2000 CS coupe which were actually a little more related to the previous generation cars rather than the 2500,2800 and 3.0 sedans.


----------



## Clarke (Oct 21, 2002)

Whoops nearly forgot the 2002 turbo(a great factory bottle rocket),and the 1602 cabrio(picture a 2002 with no roof).


----------



## doeboy (Sep 20, 2002)

Kaz said:


> *Alpina
> 
> Totally different Alpina
> :rofl: *


Hmm... I guess it doesn't allow remote linking.... here's the missing pic...


----------



## Pinecone (Apr 3, 2002)

Minor points. 

The Bavaria was the bigger 4 door car for BMW in the 70s. The 2 doors were the famous Coupes.

I think (no references handy here in India) the Bavaria engime was a smaller version of the Big 6, not the Little 6.

The Big 6 grew to 3, 3.3, 3.5, and even 3.8 liters in varisou cars up to the E34 M5.

The Little 6 was the M20, that started as the 2.3 in the 323i. The 323i was a 320i with the 2.3L little 6. It was never imported to the US, but a few made it in under the gray market or from military personnel bringing them home.

The Little 6 became the 2.5L in the E30 325i and 325is. And there was the abortion 325e for ETA fuel economy engine, which was actually 2.7L .

The Little 6 grew through the 90s into the 3.0 in the current 3 and 5 series. Even the S54 in the current E46 M3 is a descendant of the Little 6.

BTW the Exx refers to chassis series (cars), and Mxx and Sxx are engines. M series engines are pretty much the normal cars. S series engines are typically M models of the cars. For those who didn't know. There have been several threads on this board about these designations.


----------



## Alex Baumann (Dec 19, 2001)

Another different Alpina


----------



## TGD (Aug 7, 2002)

*ALPINA*

Neither the typewriter nor the wine are dirrent Alpinas. To quote from the official site:

- Burkard Bovensiepen, the son of Dr. Rudolf Bovensiepen, founder of ALPINA office machines, starts his automotive activity with the development of a Weber dual carburetter for the new BMW 1500.

- Burkard Bovensiepen establishes a new and, as we know today, highly successful business unit with ALPINA wine imports.


----------



## Mr Paddle.Shift (Dec 19, 2001)

*Re: ALPINA*

Didn't we just imply that in the previous posts?



TGD said:


> *Neither the typewriter nor the wine are dirrent Alpinas. To quote from the official site:
> 
> - Burkard Bovensiepen, the son of Dr. Rudolf Bovensiepen, founder of ALPINA office machines, starts his automotive activity with the development of a Weber dual carburetter for the new BMW 1500.
> 
> - Burkard Bovensiepen establishes a new and, as we know today, highly successful business unit with ALPINA wine imports. *


----------



## bmw325 (Dec 19, 2001)

BMW engine codes:

http://www.e30forum.net/technical/102.html

I guess the "Big 6" used in the E3 was the M30, and the small 6 is the M20 (first used in the 323i). I could swear that I read somewhere that BMW renamed all of the engine codes sometime in the late 80s. I don't know what the original designation for the M20 and M30 was (if indeed this is true).


----------

