2003 BMW Alpina B10 V8 S

The seller bought ‘FC03 KLX’, or Al as he calls him, in January 2009 when he had 109,609 miles and nine services under his belt.

As a member of the forces, it was fitting that their first journey together was to take their newborn daughter to Germany to visit friends, during which he discovered that Al will indeed stray past 155mph …

He has since continued to maintain Al in the style to which he’d become accustomed, stumping up for another 14 routine services despite the B10 being in storage when he was on detachment in Canada between 2018 and 2022.

As you’d expect of the lovechild between BMW and Alpina, he’s found Al to be “extremely reliable” and says “he offers an incredible blend of comfort and composure” and he’s only selling because he’s been posted abroad again and can’t justify putting him into storage for another lengthy period.

One of only 42 right-hand drive saloons manufactured for the UK (and even fewer are actually on the road as opposed to tucked up in the garage on SORN) if you’re looking for inspiration M539 Restorations on YouTube has an entire playlist on running and maintaining an Alpina B10 V8S - (ONGOING) Project Suonenjoki - Alpina B10 V8S - YouTube.

The front and rear bumpers, front wings, and the bonnet were refreshed in July 2016, which followed minor repairs in March 2013 and new stripes and emblem in May 2009. Some minor rust was also addressed by Dave Cross in 2025, and the result is a car that still looks fresh, even as it celebrates its 23rd birthday.

Obviously, any car that comes out of the gates of two of the best names in the business is going to have been screwed together properly and this B10 still has admirably tight and even shutlines, and perfect panel alignment.

It also sits with a taut, lithe stance while remaining usable over sleeping policemen and multistorey car-park entrances.

BMW applied the Sterlinggrau Metallic paint over a Fueller Schwartz base coat for a subtle, deep metallic silver finish. The colour came from the Bavarian firm’s ‘Individual’ range and has survived the years with a very good shine and no obvious flaws in its application, either from new or its subsequent revitalisation.

The light lenses are all bright and free of chips, cracks, and other damage too, and the vulnerable corners are also free of scuffs and scratches, as are the body-coloured door mirrors.

The sunroof slides fore and aft smoothly, and seals within its aperture tightly. The lack of stains to the inner headlining suggest it also remains watertight.

Other nice touches are Sytner numberplates and a rear screen sticker, PPF to protect the rear wings from the overlapping boot spoiler, and very good Alpina badging.

Speaking of Alpina, the exclusive 19-inch alloy wheels were due to be refurbished, something that’ll now fall to the new owner. They aren’t too bad but given the matching Goodyear Eagle F1 tyres date from 2015/16 and therefore need to be replaced, you could get the wheels redone while they’re bare.

The wheels also allow you to appreciate the very well-engineered braking system with its blue calipers and cross-drilled discs. The front discs are due to be replaced, something the seller last did in around 2012.

If, like him, you refuse to use anything other than genuine Alpina parts, this will not be cheap. But, the old pair has been retained, so it may be worth finding someone measure them to see if there’s enough to meat on two of the four to have them resurfaced.

Flaws and blemishes across the coachwork are minor and limited to stonechips to the front bumper, windscreen and bonnet, with the latter’s badge also showing its age. There is also a dent and a couple of small chips to the nearside rear door, a scuff to the middle of the rear bumper, pitting to the boot sill, a scratch on the offside rear wing, a chip and a couple of scratches to the offside rear door, and the inevitable chips to the trailing edge of the driver’s door.

The headlamps are a bit opaque too, but polishing those would be a cheap and satisfying job.

The ruched leather seats are very of-the-period and all the better for being so. Only gently rumpled, their light grey colour is bolstered by the Alpina logo on all four seat backs.

The front seats are electrically adjustable and heated, while the rears offer three-abreast seating along with three-point seatbelts and adjustable headrests for all.

The door cards are trimmed with matching pleated leather, and the Alpina logo and colours also make an appearance on the three-spoke steering wheel, a fixture that also contains the thumb-shifters for the gearbox.

The Alpina name takes pride of place on the dashboard, and the switches and controls remain bright and legible. Of course, the panel on the headlining still features the plaque that shows this is #95 built.

It is all charmingly original and unmodified bar the installation of a Parrot Bluetooth system and everything we tested worked as it should, including all four puddle lights and the headunit’s fold-out screen.

Of course, nothing survives more than two decades of use without collecting a bit of a patina, and this is most noticeable on the gearknob and the steering wheel. Neither needs refurbishing, but you might want to source replacement rear sill trims to replace the originals, which have cracked.

The rest of the interior has fared equally well; the headlining is clean and taut and the wood veneer is glossy and undamaged, including that on the handbrake and gearknob.

Moving into the boot, the spare is a matching alloy fitted with a Pirelli P Zero tyre. The tool kit is neatly presented in its tray on the underside of the boot lid, and additions appear to be limited to a cable to connect an MP3 player and another for a battery conditioner.

The Alpina-specific carpet is in great shape too with vivid colours and no stains or damage. The luggage area is, therefore, every bit as impressive as the rest of the car.

The Alpina’s service history booklet and the invoices on file show the following routine maintenance work has been carried out:

· 25.06.2025 and 140,891 miles – service by Woods Motor Company, an independent BMW specialist

· 16.07.2024 and 140,267 miles – service by Woods Motor Company plus recharging the air-conditioning system

· 28.07.2023 and circa 139,229 miles – service by Woods Motor Company including fresh coolant and power-steering fluid plus a gearbox service

· 23.09.2022 and 137,515 miles – service by Woods Motor Company including replacing a gearbox selector switch and fresh brake fluid

· 29.08.2017 and 135,356 miles – service by Listers BMW

· 27.08.2016 and 131,471 miles – service by Listers BMW including fresh brake fluid and coolant

· 02.09.2015 and 129,300 miles – service by Listers BMW

· 04.09.2014 and 127,264 miles – service by Cooleys including fresh brake and power-steering fluid, a new fuel filter, and striping down and cleaning the braking system

· 27.08.2013 and 123,344 miles – service by John Clark BMW including fresh coolant

· 25.09.2012 and 121,383 miles – transmission service by Mackie Automatic Transmissions

· 30.08.2012 and 120,870 miles – service by John Clark BMW including fresh brake fluid

· 19.09.2011 and 119,755 miles – service by John Clark BMW

· 14.01.2011 and 117,620 miles – service by Listers BMW

· 23.09.2010 and 116,937 miles – service by Listers BMW including fresh coolant

· 14.01.2009 and 109,866 miles – service by Listers BMW including fresh brake fluid and coolant

· 22.12.2008 and 109,125 miles – service by Sytner BMW

· 08.10.2007 and 95,230 miles – service by Westerly Barnstaple BMW

· 17.11.2006 and 78,875 miles – service by Westerly Barnstaple BMW

· 30.05.2006 and 62,861 miles – service by Westerly Barnstaple BMW

· 09.12.2005 and 49,684 miles – service by Westerly Barnstaple BMW

· 26.07.2005 and 34,011 miles – service by Westerly Barnstaple BMW including fresh brake fluid

· 29.03.2005 and 22,300 miles – service by Westerly Barnstaple BMW

· 15.07.2004 and 9,129 miles – service by Lind Ltd

· 06.08.2003 and 1,604 miles – service by Lind Ltd

January 2026 saw Woods Motor Company replace the camshaft position sensor, and the same firm ran up a bill for £1,211 in replacing gaskets and recharging the air-conditioning system in September 2025. July 2022 saw the underside receive some fettling and Waxoyling, and the radiator was replaced in 2016.

Previous work that most folk might not have bothered with also includes rebuilding the onboard computer display in 2016, the same year that saw the clock being repaired.

As you can see, the 4.8-litre V8 engine starts well and idles quietly without triggering any dashboard lights. It also revs like the thoroughbred it is and the exhaust note is on the naughty side of discreet.

Having had two services, “the gearbox performs brilliantly”.

As for faults, the only ones we are aware of are a slow loss of pressure from the offside front tyre and a temperamental rear parking sensor.

The engine bay is very nicely presented; you could detail it further but better, perhaps, to spend that time and money on petrol and B-road blasts instead.

The inner wings still look good and solid, and you’ll note the BMW chassis number has been crossed out on the offside suspension turret and replaced with Alpina’s. A new chassis plate with Alpina’s details has also been installed, more proof – if more were needed – that this is a remanufactured car rather than one with a few branded goodies bolted on…

The underside has never attracted an advisory for structural corrosion, which should go some way to allaying any fears. That said, the underseal is flaking off in places to reveal surface corrosion, so some preventative maintenance would be in order ahead of the coming winter.

The suspension springs are also rusty, as are some of the fasteners so if you decided to spend the winter refreshing the underside instead of dousing it with salt we’d completely understand.

But we must reiterate that this looks like it would be preventative work rather than remedial.

The Alpina’s MoT certificate expires in September 2027, and if you were to fit new front brake discs and pads, you’d be able to get rid of its only advisories.

The recent Vehicle History Check is clear bar the marker for being an imported vehicle, and it comes with three keys, albeit one of them is cosmetically damaged.

With no fewer than 104 pages of photos, the Alpina’s history file is as complete as you could hope and includes invoices for service and repair work, expired MoT certificates and tax discs, sat-nav update discs, and the Alpina wallet and book pack.

Vanishingly rare and astonishingly quick, the Alpina B10 V8S take the already very good E39 M5 and turns the dial all the way to 12.

And yet, despite all their many virtues – not least the fact that only true enthusiasts will even recognise what it is – prices remain lower than we think they should.

Because this one, well fettled and straight out of the hands of the man who’s owned it for the past 17 years, is only likely to fetch somewhere between £11,000 and £14,000, which is pennies-on-the-pound considering the performance and style you’ll be getting in return.

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