This year Alpina celebrates 50 years since it first tuned a BMW and started going down the road that would eventually turn it into a standalone manufacturer and in-house tuner for the Bavarians.
Founded by Burkard Bovensiepens in 1962, it was in 1965 when they fitted a BMW 1500 with a Weber dual carburetor and showed great promise for their future products. That’s how it all started and, over the years, the company evolved from a tuner that used to be part of BMW’s stable at various motosport events, into a proper manufacturer with its own VINs these days.
Along the years we’ve seen some brilliant cars come from the Buchloe-based company. From the 1800TI that featured parts made by them, to their first SUV which was launched last year in the shape of the Alpina XD3 Biturbo.
And just to get a small idea of how brilliant their cars are, you need to know that their B6 xDrive Gran Coupe model is faster to 100 km/h (62 mph) than the BMW alternative which is the M6 Gran Coupe. That being said, it’s quite stunning how far a company that used to make typewriters has come in 50 years.
Today you can basically get a car that is close (or better) in terms of performance to an M model and yet be more luxurious and comfortable than its benchmark. Of course, on the track, the gods of the automotive world will favor the Motorsport-bred creations but how often do you hit the track anyway?
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