Charly Geschwentner’s 2002 Ti ‘Alpina’ – COTM August 2024

Hello everyone. I’m Charly from Germany and in today’s story I would like to introduce you to my BMW 2002 TI.

I bought my first 02 when I was 18. After a long absence from the brand, the opportunity arose in 2012 to buy the BMW shown below. It is an original vehicle, built in 1970, which I brought from Marseille to Germany in 2012.

My original plan was to rebuild the car true to the original, but after I saw a friend’s car with pork cheeks, I liked it so much that I decided to design the bodywork like that. Furthermore, because I come from Allgäu, I have always had a connection to the ALPINA company in Buchlohe and so the decision to convert the BMW into an ALPINA racing car matured.

Over the next two years, I gradually acquired the relevant original technical parts, restored them and installed them. The interior was also put together based on the BMW ALPINA of the time and installed by me.

In a final step, the vehicle was painted by a professional company, which took a little time but achieved very good results. The matching stickers and new trim strips completed the external appearance of a racing car.

After the TÜV inspection in 2014, I was able to enjoy the maiden voyage with my BMW ALPINA, which now shines in Colorado and matt black, and I still enjoy driving this car depending on the season! Details and special features of the restoration are briefly described in the following list:

Body:

– Removal with pig’s cheeks

– Chemical paint stripping
– Cathodic dip painting (KTL)
– Bonnet and trunk lid made of fiberglass plastic (GRP)

Technical data:

– 2 litre M10 engine A4S
– Harder engine mounts from racing
– ALPINA single throttle
– 3.64 limited-slip differential 40% with ALPINA differential cover (hedgehog)

– Bilstein chassis in Nürburgring tuning
– ALPINA suspension struts 1.5 degrees negative camber
– Adjustable stabilizers
– 5-speed sports transmission from the e9

– Stainless steel exhaust 63mm
– 3-piece BBS e30 rims, rear 9´´, front 8´´
– Tires KUMHO 253/45 13, 215/50 13
– Wiechers roll cage
– ALPINA racing tank as a replica

Interior:
– ALPINA steering wheel
– original Scheel sports seats
– original ALPINA tachometer
– additional instruments for oil pressure, oil temperature, water temperature, battery level.

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