The BMW 6-Series is no stranger to the cut and thrust of motorsport.
Back in the early 1980s, the E24-generation 6-Series was a very successful touring car, winning the Spa 24 Hours outright 3 times, and the Nürburgring 24 Hours twice. Despite this success, the 6-Series found itself on a rather extended hiatus from the BMW product catalogue.
In 2003, the 6-Series was reborn in the form of the awkwardly-styled E63-generation. Whilst it would be easy to sit here discussing the finer points of why the E63 6-Series looks quite so strange, we’re instead taking the high road and focussing on the car’s motorsport undertaking.
Following the retirement of the racing versions of the original E24, it was the BMW 3-Series that bore the weight of BMW’s motorsport desires for decades across the globe. In the mid-2000s the GT3 racing category had begun to take off with manufacturers from across the globe entering their most eligible cars. The GT3 championship was a logical place for BMW to prove its worth, yet BMW had already committed to the FIA GT2 championship with an E92-M3 derived racer.
BMW was left with no resources to commit to a GT3 car, which left a void that was quickly filled by the enigmatic BMW tuner Alpina. Despite having a long partnership with BMW, Alpina entering their own car was unprecedented.
Alpina is most well-known for making refined and relaxing cars that just also happen to be incredibly fast. Alpina’s take on the E63-Series was the B6, and unlike BMW’s E63 M6, which featured a naturally-aspirated 5 Litre V10, Alpina’s car used a 4.4 Litre supercharged V8. The Alpina B6 GT3 made its race debut in 2009, and it looked the part; run by the Alpina factory team, the B6 GT3s were easily distinguishable thanks to their bright green paint and centre lock racing wheels that retained the famous Alpina 20-spoke design.
The B6 GT3 had 530bhp and was run by the Alpina factory team and a number of privateers with middling success. In the FIA GT3 championship, the B6 GT3 managed to record a single podium finish with a second position finish Paul Ricard in 2009. Domestically in the German ADAC GT Masters championship, the B6 GT3 was more competitive racking up a number of victories in 2009 and 2010, and eventually claiming the drivers’ championship in 2011 with Dino Lunardi and Alexandros Margaritis behind the wheel.
2011 was the last season in which the B6 GT3 competed, with it being superseded by BMW’s own Z4 GT3. Not bad for a big luxury car.
Kerbside 