The Back Story (a couple of A4s)

September 15, 2017

As a bona fide 2002 nut, I spent too much time dreaming of Alpina-modified 02s, the best being the 2002tii version known as an Alpina A4. In addition to the usual suspension and braking upgrades, Alpina was known for their tweaked motors. The standard 2002 had about 100hp, the tii had 130hp, and the Alpina A4 and A4S had 165-180hp, achieved through a four-throttle injection system, a tweaked kugelfischer pump, a 300* motorsport cam, and high compression pistons.

I bought my first A4 injection system in the late 1980s, but never got around to installing it in the 2002tii I had back then. (Ironically, I sold that tii and bought a gray-market 1980 e21 323i.)

In 2002, I bought "Sandy," a Sahara beige 1973 2002tii with a low mileage Dave Cruise motor and Franz Fechner 5-speed. I installed an Alpina A4 system I had found on eBay.de.

I had fun with that car, but decided I really wanted a 2002 touring. I sold Sandy and bought Inkie, a 1972 Inka touring I imported from Holland.

Although that car was in fine condition, I promptly tore it apart and rebuilt it as an Alpina A4, and it sported the personalized California plates "FAUX A4."

The motor was the highlight of the rebuild. It had an S14 crank (2.2 liters), 304* schrick cam, custom 10.0:1 JE pistons, an aluminum flywheel, connected to a 5-speed close ratio transmission.

The inka touring got some other special parts too. Underneath, the suspension had very rare Alpina "Green Dot" Bilstein struts up front and inverted rear shocks, Alpina adjustable sway bars, and ST springs for great handling and good ride-height.

The interior featured reupholstered 2002 turbo seats and a Momo Prototipo, the steering wheel used by Alpina.

That car was my daily-driver until it was replaced by a 911.