For sale: this Alpina B10 V8 S could go *cheap*

This is an E39 BMW Alpina B10 V8 S, which means it’s the finest 5 Series ever designed offering something a little different from the undoubted goodness of a full-blown BMW M5 of the same generation. It’s also going cheap, at least at the time of writing.

Collecting Cars’ current listing tells us bidding on this simply delightful 2002 B10 V8 S is up to £12,600, and you’ve got until 7.40pm on Friday 6 Aug to declare your interest in a really very interesting car.

Alpina said this car's predecessor, the B10 V8, was one of its most successful cars (more than 1,300 sold since its 1997 launch), but after a while the original’s 347bhp wasn’t enough. So for the last E39 model year it rolled out this V8 S which had yet more power.

It used a modified version of the engine in the ‘regular’ B10 – a 540i unit with a recast block – upping capacity to 4.8-litres. There’s a new crank, new piston rings, and a new intake system over the B10 (which differed itself from BMW’s original engine with new pistons, a higher compression ratio, more aggressive cams and so on).

All in, the V8 S kicked out 375bhp and 376lb ft of torque, matched to a five-speed auto and rear-wheel-drive. Indeed, Alpina tells us this exact engine was later used for the Z8-based Roadster V8, and even as a full-BMW engine in the X5 4.8iS. Alpina quotes 0-62mph in 5.4s (for the saloon) and a top speed of 176mph. Figures not far off the M5...

There’s new suspension – slightly stiffer than the B10 – to work with those classic 19in wheels. There are new massive Brembo brakes, too, and exterior changes are, like all old Alpinas, quite subtle. Aside from the wheels, a new front spoiler, a new rear spoiler, and that classic Alpina interior.

This particular car wears just 58,216 miles which, for a big V8, is barely run in. It’s ‘night blue’ with a beige interior, gets a ‘comprehensive’ service history, lots of early Noughties trinkets (a six-disc CD changer! A cordless phone! An electric rear blind!), along with parking sensors, sat nav and even cruise control.

Considering that price and what you're ultimately getting - rarity, performance, unmatched coolness - there's a potential bargain to be had here, folks.

Photography: Matt Woods