BMW ALPINA
- Arnav Kokkirala
- Aug 29, 2021
- 3 min read
Heritage cars from the long-standing German manufacturer.
Unlike many aftermarket tuners, Alpina is recognized as an automobile manufacturer as it works closely together with BMW--having its vehicles created in the same assembly lines.
Where did it start?
Burkard Bovensiepen: The Founder
Alpina's beginnings lie in Burkard's work creating and tuning carburetors in 1962. In this case, specifically one for the BMW 1500, a production line of sedans and coupes. After being accepted by a high quality product by automotive analysts and even the head of sales of BMW Paul G. Hahnemann, Burkard's Alpina carburetors were given the green light for factory production for BMW vehicles.
In 1965, Alpina officially transitioned into a BMW tuning business after leaving behind its roots in typewriter manufacturing. As the company began to make a name for itself, it became known for tuning crankshafts and carburetors to improve performance of these vehicles. After a brief stint in racing with a 1970 European Touring Car Championship, Alpina eventually ended its era in racing and moved strictly into aftermarket production of BMW vehicles.
Alpina Today:
Generally accepted as higher quality than the mainline BMW production vehicles, the Alpina heritage cars also arrive with a higher price tag. On Alpina's own website, customers can fully customize their own models to receive the Alpina car of their dreams. At its base these cars are the BMW production equivalent, but what sets the two apart are the attention to detail through more thoughtful craftsmanship and higher performance output. This is to no critique of BMW's cars, but since Alpina works with much more limited models and has much less pressure on them to reach a high number of sales and certain figures for revenue, they can take the time to work on the artistry of the car. One of the first things that sets the two cars apart are the unique Alpina paints which are not often seen on regular BMW cars; for example the classic Alpina forest green. Beyond this, further fine craftsmanship is seen in: the iconic Alpina logos and subtle detailing in badges around the car, Alpina logos (such as on the steering wheel and seats) and other accents within the interior of the car. Alpina then, despite using the same engine as the BMW equivalent model, improves performance by tuning the vehicle, tying back to the manufacturer's roots. Another feature that differentiates BMW from Alpina is the fact that does not need to experiment in the same manner as BMW does. As a main brand, BMW must keep up with the ever evolving automobile world and churn out new electric models or create new design features that will let it stand out. One such feature is the infamous kinda grille found on M3 and M4 models since 2021. It has been a polarizing feature of these vehicles that many claim has killed the sleekness and subtlety of BMW cars but also is one that has grown on me personally. However, unlike BMW, Alpina has the liberty of sticking to tradition as that is an element the brand is known for. Thus, they did not have to switch the grille and instead could keep the design prior to the recent change.
Overall, Alpina cars are truly works of art and ones to be appreciated by the greatest of car enthusiast to the lay person. The detailing and performance of these cars makes them one to be held in high regard and likely a series of cars that will never go out of style as they pull on the heart-strings of any traditionalist. A video that I recommend watching to learn further about how high-quality these cars are would be this video on the B8 by a youtube channel called TheStraightPipes run by two men located in Canada. They also make great videos on many other cars, past and preset.
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