When BMW introduced the two-door 1600, Alpina had a golden opportunity. The new car was smaller and lighter than the 1500/1800 cars, which made the Alpina very fast with a good power-to-weight ratio. With this model Alpina had a more complete product line, instead of just tuning-kits, complete high-performance engines were available to the public.
   These engines were fitted with special lighter pistons, carefully balanced crankshafts and polished connecting rods.
   BMW 2002 ti was top-of-the-line in its model-range. But the Alpina 2002 was considerable faster, with its 165 bhp engine. On the Vallelunga race track it was one second faster than the Lamborghini Miura, and whole five seconds faster than Porsche 911s. Alpina now had a very good reputation all over the world.
   And in 1973 the Alpina 2002 tii was available as a complete and fully-developed car.
   This car had equal performance with the 2002 turbo, but the Alpina were considerably more comfortable and enjoyable to drive than the turbo. There was no turbo-lag, which were a big problem in the 2002 turbo, and its fuel consumption was much lower.
   And it was cheaper, about 1500 DM less than the BMW.
   Alpina´s 2002 product range was a success, and even in the mid 70s, when many of the smaller tuning firms disappeared.
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