Oh boy this is hard.

I’ve just had the car go through its final stages of restoration. It’s had absolutely everything done now and needs no work at all and at no expense spared.

It’s currently sitting at CG Performance and is looking as good as the day it left the factory.

I bought the car back in 2007 from a fellow in Scotland. Driving it back down, it was obvious the car wasn’t as good as he’d made it out to be. Arriving a while later in London, I decided to start a project of restoration that would essentially take me 7 years.

I’ve come to realise that in order to own a proper classic car, you need to either be someone who doesn’t mind getting his hands dirty, or somebody who doesn’t mind throwing a lot of money at it. After having spent over £30,000 on this car, I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m neither.

Firstly, let’s get some honest facts on the table. It’s a numbers matching original Sytners Nottingham supplied Alpina C2 2.7. There were only 159 of these cars made worldwide in all the variants, including convertible and touring models. It basically left the factory as a 325is and is then immediately sent through Alpina to turn it into the C2. It’s bored out to 2.7, gas flowed head, mahle pistons, Alpina camshaft, Alpina ECU, Alpina suspension, Alpina exhaust and the awesome body kit.

This particular example is what’s called a Tech 1, denoting an earlier example pre-facelift, generally regarded as the most desirable. Personally, I think these cars look and sound better than the M3, but of course doesn’t have the pedigree of its cousin.

There’s a plaque on the car which acts as certificate of originality. A phone call with Sytners will also confirm the car as an original. It’s currently sitting on 133k miles which is as honest as I can say and given it’s a 27 year old car (nice), it’s still relatively low mileage!

It’s just been fully serviced and not long after a complete engine rebuild. On top of that, every single perishable, consumable and replaceable item has, in fact, been replaced! From the entire suspension system, to brakes, to bushes, to gaskets, to fuel and brake lines, to everything! Nothing needs replacing and you can see the under body of the car and the detail the new build went through.

It has not been easy. It’s been dragged from bodyshop to workshop and pieces have gone missing along the way. Most recently, the wooden gearstick disappeared between two workshops and neither would accept responsibility. It still has everything else though, including the delightful Alpina steering wheel.

What’s wrong with it? Not much. The paint has been resprayed completely. Just some light swirls from where it’s been poorly wiped down since the respray so it has just been professionally detailed and buffed to remove any imperfections and it looks sensational.

Over all the whole car looks in excellent condition given its age and 133k mileage. It’s not a concours car and some of the problem areas such as the black coming off the trim and a small split in the top of the dash and some cracking to the paint on the rear spolier can be seen in the photos and the video.

The front skirt is brand new having just been completely replaced with an original item. The older one had seen one too many speed ramps and the amount of times it had been repaired was laughable.

On top of this the tyres aren’t great. They’re new and suit the characteristics of the car. With only 210 BHP, it’s not a rocket ship so having loose tyres livens up the handling no end. However, if authenticity is what you want then some good tyres can be sourced quite cheap.

I’ve gone to no expense on originality and even the stereo head unit is an authentic item that I’ve sourced.

There’s a massive dossier of receipts and documents, and it has a service history but not a full one. However it has been rebuilt recently and serviced only a few days ago and is, as a result, better than any others that have a ‘full service history’!

I’m looking for offers over £20,000. I’ve already had an offer of £18,000 and that’s before marketing it internationally.

This car looks stunning and represents something very special in my life. A period in the 80’s synonymous with yuppy success and indulgence. In Lachs Silver, this is a car that will love being driven and the sound from that 2.7 straight six is unique and utterly intoxicating.

I refuse to go look at it – I know, if I do, I will not sell it.