Alpina

Car auctions have made the digital transition far better than most industries, and while we may no longer have the rampant bull market of a few years ago, the collectible car industry looks in better shape than ever. Here's a selection of the more interesting lots that sold in Paris.

Alpina takes a unique approach to performance. Rather than sacrificing itself at the altar of handling, the tuning house takes a more relaxed approach, putting comfort before hot-lap dominance. The latest product of that formula is the D5 S, the fastest diesel production car in the world.

What if you want to enjoy BMW's high-tech, long wheelbase, 7 Series at really high speed? Then you'd need the new Alpina B7, which takes BMW's luxury sedan and turns it into a 310 km/h (193 mph) autobahn bruiser.

In the world of tuning, there's no such thing as too much power. BMW's 560-hp (418-kW) M5 is already an absolute powerhouse, but the engineers at Alpina have decided that there's a market for a more powerful, more luxurious 5 Series in the form of the B5 Biturbo.

The all-new Alpina BMW D3 Bi-Turbo hits 62 mph (100 km/h) in 4.6 seconds on its way to a 173 mph (278 km/h) top speed. Alpina reckons that's enough to make it the fastest diesel production car on the big blue ball we call home.

March 23, 2009 450 Nm ( 332 lbs-ft) of torque was once considered V8 territory, which just goes to show how times change. The BMW ALPINA D3 makes 450 Nm from a 2.0-litre, four-cylinder, turbo-charged diesel engine. The D supposedly stands for diesel, but could equally stand for Drehmoment, German f