Welcome! This site chronicles the long-term resto-mod of a genuine and very rare Buchloe-built 1982 E21 BMW/Alpina C1 2.3. There’s a blog of the restoration and the (hopefully) faithful modifications of the car, information on Alpina C1 2.3s in general and this car in specific, links to other relevant sites, pictures, and more.

Alpina was, until they were recently acquired by BMW, the premiere BMW tuner and manufacturer of modified BMWs. Back in the late 1970s and early 1980s, they offered several levels of modifications for the E21 (3-series) chassis. This car, an Alpina C1 2.3, is based on the BMW factory top-of-the-line E21, the 323i. The C1 2.3 was most commonly offered as a kit; that kit commonly was installed by a BMW dealer or tuner. But a small handful of C1 2.3s were actually built by Alpina in their factory alongside the better-known Alpina manufactured cars (the B6 2.8, B7 turbo, and such). Because Alpina has very sparce records of the C1 2.3s they built, it is left to folklore to guess how many they made but, estimates range from the high 20s to 44 or 45. What is clear: Buchloe-built C1 2.3s are one of the rarest—yet, likely most under-appreciated—Alpinas. This car is one of that handful of those Buchloe-built C1 2.3s.
But that was not clear when the car appeared on Bring a Trailer back in 2016. The seller claimed it to be a true C1 2.3 but offered nothing to back that up. And that led to the comment section being filled with doubters demanding documentation. The seller failed to respond, the auction tanked and I was able to both document it’s authenticity and scoop it up at a reasonable price post-auction.

When the car arrived, the paint, body and interior were rougher than I had hoped, and it became clear the car needed to be restored. Seven years later, the car had been painted, much of the mechanics rebuilt and finally running and looking good. I also improved several aspects of the car along the way, while trying to remain faithful to the originality of the car. The restoration, modification, and maintenance process is chronicled in the blog section of this web. I hope you enjoy it! And feel free to email at info@alpinac1.com with your thoughts, comments and suggestions.