THE CAR INQUISITION
Now fully under BMW ownership, Alpina heads in a new direction.
ANDREAS BOVENSIEPEN, CEO, ALPINA AUTOMOBILES
The passing of Alpina founder Burkard Bovensiepen in October must seem particularly symbolic to fans of Alpina’s uniquely classy take on go-faster BMWs.
Aged 86, his death comes only 18 months after Alpina announced the sale of naming rights to BMW and just two years before the final Buchloe-built Alpina leaves the line, after which BMW takes production inhouse. Despite record production figures, Alpina’s decision was prompted by forthcoming development costs for electrified powertrains and driver-assistance systems.
Burkard was Alpina, growing the company from an aftermarket Weber carb upgrade in 1965 to a manufacturer in its own right by 1983. He even pushed BMW to develop a lighter version of the 2800 CS for racing, lighting the fuse on the 3.0 CSL ‘Batmobile’.
Andreas Bovensiepen remembers his father as a ‘visionary, a perfectionist and a man of clear ideas’ who adopted the ‘latest techniques like fuel injection, computer injection and catalytic convertors’ and had a knack for spotting future trends.
Now it falls to Andreas – already at the helm for some time with younger brother Florian – to continue that legacy. Growing up in the early 1970s, Andreas was steeped in Alpina’s halcyon motorsport era, when drivers including Derek Bell and Niki Lauda helped win ETCC titles in 1970, 1973 and 1977, first in the BMW 2002 and 2800 CS, later that CSL.
GROWING UP, THE RACECARS WERE BUILT ONLY 200 METRES FROM WHERE WE LIVED. YOU’D HEAR THEM AT NIGHT
‘The racecars were prepared only 200 metres away from where we lived in Buchloe,’ remembers the qualified engineer and business graduate who joined the family firm in 2002 after a stint at BMW’s FIZ R&D centre. ‘Even at night you could hear an engine running on the dyno or when a fresh engine was started for the first time.’
It’s the end of an era, then, but not the end of Burkard’s legacy. Alpina Classic, which will remain wholly independent, has set its sights on the 25,000 or so Alpinas that remain of approximately 60,000 produced since the B6 2.8 debuted in 1978.
Alpina Classic has already reintroduced spares and accessories, including E30 3-series alloys, aerodynamic parts and Garrett turbochargers for the E34 Alpina B10 Biturbo. Ending new-car production will also free up capacity for full restorations.
‘We have completed some restoration projects before – last year we finished a two-year restoration of a 1981 6-series Coupe B7S Turbo for a Japanese customer, which we completely dismantled, rebuilt and painted,’ reveals Andreas. ‘But mostly we use a
