The 333i was created by BMW South Africa to compete in South African saloon car racing. Originally conceived for competition in Group One to be pitted against the likes of other South African big capacity specials such as the Ford Sierra XR8 and Alfa Romeo GTV 3.0. The car was left without a formula when Grp1 was cancelled at the end of 1985. Although BMW Germany was developing the M3, BMW SA chose the more traditional big engine route. The resulting 333i had a number of racing successes whereafter it was replaced by the 325iS.

The M30B32 3.3 liter engine was sourced from the 733i and many Alpina parts were used including gearbox, rear axle and brakes. The 333i could be viewed as an interesting variant of the Alpina B6 3.5. The 333i was unusual as it was a cooperation between BMW South Africa, BMW Motorsport and Alpina. BMW essentially adopted an Alpina design for the South African market with the 333i, the first example in an ongoing cooperation for shared engineering efforts between BMW and Alpina.

Only 204 examples were produced between 1985-1987, with many being entered in motorsport competition in South Africa. One vehicle was exported to BMW UK, with another 3 or 4 imported into the UK privately. The car was available in 4 colours; Charcoal Black (Diamantschwarz), Henna Red (Hennarot), Ice White (Alpinweiss) and Aero Silver (Arctissilber).