Me & My Car: Alun Parry And His…Alpina B6 2.8

A man with an Alpina addiction shares the story behind his immaculate 1982 B6

- Antony Ingram

‘THEY’RE A CAR FOR SOMEBODY WHO APPRECIATES BMW but wants something a little different, without going to one of the other tuning companies. Alpina’s the best known, a manufacturer even. They’ve got things spot on.’ It’s difficult to disagree with Alun Parry’s sentiment, whether you’ve just stepped from behind the wheel of a recent B3, or are staring, slightly misty-eyed, at his glorious 1982 Alpina B6 2.8. Parry, head of press and PR at Suzuki UK, was working with BMW GB back in 1995 when he collected his B6 from its previous owner in Germany. The car, he says, had no trouble on the autobahn keeping pace with the 740i they’d driven down in…

If you’ve been reading evo for a while, you may already recognise this car. Ten years ago it made a brief appearance in Fast Fleet (issue 137) alongside its contemporary equivalent, an Alpina D3 run by Roger Green. Both cars were built in the same factory in Buchloe, Bavaria, and while the diesel engine of the D3 might hamper its future-classic credentials, there’s little doubt Parry’s B6 is already there.

What you might not guess, looking at its rich coat of black paintwork and perfect silver Deko Set stripes, is that the car used to be green. ‘It was Cyprus Green originally. It was painted in 1998 by a friend of mine. He called me and said, “What colour do you want the car?” I said, “Well, green.” But he said, “It’s just a shell, so you don’t have to.” I thought maybe I’ll have it red, but then we went for black with silver decals.’