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Legendary Tuning Shop/Manufacturer - Alpina Burkard Bovensiepen

Pinstripes and multi-spoke alloys since 1965

Alpina was founded by Burkard Bovensiepen (b. 1936) in 1965 as Burkard Bovensiepen KG in Kaufbeuren, Bavaria in southern Germany. The original name can be traced to Dr. Rudolf Bovensiepen, his father, whose company produced office machinery.

Although Alpina started by producing typewriters, the original Alpina ceased to exist at the end of the 1960s in their attempt to move into the textile industry. In 1965, Burkard established a BMW tuning business, following his success with investments in the stock market. He started the tuning business in an outbuilding of the original Alpina typewriter factory. The company worked on carburetors and revised cylinder heads. By 1970, with seventy employees, the original facility changed locations from Kaufbeuren to Buchloe.

Between 1968 and 1977, Alpina cars did very well in competition. The highlight was in 1970, when the team’s cars won the European Touring Car Championship, the German Hillclimb Championship, rally and track racing championships and the prestigious Spa 24 Hours.

Since the late 1970s Alpina has been recognized by TÜV as an automobile manufacturer, thus Alpina-built cars are branded and registered as Alpina instead of BMW, although an Alpina can be bought and serviced at local BMW dealerships, and covered if there is a warranty issue.

Distinctive features of Alpina vehicles are 20 spoke alloy wheels, “Alpina Blue” patented metallic paint, in addition to expensive interior materials used to fabricate the exclusive interior appointments. A typical blue and green pattern (same as in the logo) is often used on interior parts such as stitchings on leather and different fabrics used in the upholstery. A thin, almost pinstripe like outside body decor set in gold or silver is also a trademark of Alpina cars. A metal plate inside also proves the heritage and the serial number of the car.

Compared to cars from BMW’s in-house motorsport-rooted subsidiary, BMW M, Alpina’s vehicles have more emphasis on luxury, higher torque, and have automatic transmissions instead of manual or semi-automatic transmissions. For instance, regarding the high performance variants of the BMW E60 5-Series, the B5 offers a different take on performance and how to accomplish it. Unlike BMW M’s own M5 which has a naturally aspirated, high-revving 5.0L V10, the Alpina B5 uses a supercharged 4.4L V8 which produces similar horsepower and remarkably greater torque on lower rpm’s.

• List of all Alpina models with specs

Video:

• Alpina BMW CS vs AMG Mercedes SLC
• BMW E46 M3 vs Alpina 3.3 vs Hartge 5.5

motoriginal:

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Photos via Autoviva, focusnige, jason cornish, & Simon Didmon