"Alpina was established in 1965, pre-dated by its founder, Burkard Bovensiepen, using his skills to produce tuning kits for a range of car brands, including BMW. Today Alpina, a vehicle manufacturer in its own right and still a family firm, guided by Bovensiepen and his sons, Andreas and Florian - continues to enjoy close co-operation with BMW. Based on the BMW 750i and 750iL, Alpina released the B12 5.7 in 1995 and the B12 6.0 in 1999. In contrast to the cars they are based on, these models are not electronically limited to a top speed of 155 mph, but reach top speeds of more than 174 mph and 181 mph respectively. According to Alpina the B12 5.7 was the world's first vehicle with an electrically heated metal catalyst as standard and produced 387bhp. Just 296 B12'S were produced; 202 5.7 litre examples and 94 6.0 litre cars, rarer still were long wheelbase examples.
Registered in October 1996, this Alpina (E38) B12 5.7 V12 long wheelbase was sourced from Japan in 2018 by our vendor; a collector of rare modern classics. And they don’t come much rarer than this; the Alpina plaque details this as number 24 of the 296 B12's produced, and is believed to be just one of eight right hand drive examples of the long wheelbase model. With just over 40,000 miles on the odometer this car, when sourced from the Japanese auction house, was graded an impressive 4.5b which is the highest grade for used cars. The history file is comprehensive and confirms the car has been maintained regardless of cost. It also includes 12 months’ MOT certificate, VOSA registration and documents to show all taxes have been paid. Described by our vendor as in stunning collector’s condition, the car also benefits from 20 inch Alpina alloy wheels, Double glazing and privacy blinds and produces 387 bhp and 560 nm of torque propelling this car from 0-60 in 6.4 seconds and onto an unlimited 180 mph! Given these cars are often seen at circa £50,000 with the B12 8 Series making over £100,000, this presents itself as a fantastic opportunity to own a very rare motorcar."