Alpina

Alpina Burkard Bovensiepen GmbH

Type	Public
Industry	Automotive
Founded	1965
Headquarters	Buchloe, Germany
Key people	Burkard Bovensiepens
Products	Automobiles
Website	alpina-automobile.de

Alpina Burkard Bovensiepen GmbH is an automobile manufacturing company based in Buchloe, in the Ostallgäu district of Bavaria, Germany selling their own cars, based on BMW cars.

Alpina works closely with BMW and their processes are integrated into BMW's production lines, thus Alpina is recognized by TÜV as an automobile manufacturer, in contrast to other performance specialists which are aftermarket tuners. For instance, the Alpina B7 is produced at the same assembly line in Dingolfing, Germany, along with BMW's own 7-Series. For the 2011 model year, the B7's twin-turbo 4.4-liter BMW V8 is assembled by hand at Alpina's facility in Buchloe, Germany, before being shipped to BMW for installation, and the assembled vehicle is then sent back to Alpina for finishing touches.^[1][2]

History

BMW Alpina 3.0 CSL (1974), driven by Helmut Koinigg

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.

Brand distinctions

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.^[3] 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.

Current lineup

Alpina D3 Biturbo

• ALPINA D3 Bi-Turbo Sedan / Touring and Coupe based on the BMW E90/E91/E92 with 123d engine - 214 PS (157 kW; 211 hp) / 450 N·m (332 lb·ft)
• ALPINA B3 S Bi-Turbo Sedan / Touring / Coupe and Cabrio: based on the BMW E90/E91/E92/E93 335i 400 PS (294 kW; 395 hp) / 400 N·m (295 lb·ft). This model can be ordered with RWD or AWD.
• ALPINA B5 Bi-Turbo Sedan/Touring: based on the BMW F10/F11 5 Series - featuring a 4.4 L V8 Bi-Turbo engine, also used in the Alpina B7 507 PS (373 kW; 500 hp) / 700 N·m (516 lb·ft)
• ALPINA D5 Bi-Turbo Sedan/Touring: based on the BMW F10/F11 5 Series - featuring a 3 L straight 6 Bi-Turbo engine, delivering 350 PS (257 kW; 345 hp).
• ALPINA B7 Bi-Turbo: based on the BMW F01 7 Series - featuring a 4.4 L V8 Bi-Turbo engine 507 PS (373 kW; 500 hp) / 700 N·m (516 lb·ft)^[4] Competitors include the Mercedes-Benz S63 AMG.^[5]

Alpina B7

2012 Alpina B7 L (long wheelbase), based on the F02 model BMW. It is equipped with 20-spoke, 21-inch "Alpina Classic" wheels.

The B7 is produced at the same assembly line in Dingolfing, Germany, along with BMW's own 7-Series. For the 2011 model year, the B7's twin-turbo 4.4-liter V8 is assembled by hand at Alpina's facility in Buchloe, Germany, before being shipped to BMW for installation, and the assembled vehicle is then sent back to Alpina for finishing touches.^[1][2]

BMW permitted Alpina to produce a high-performance 7-Series, however they did not want it to be a high-revving, BMW M version. For the E65 7-Series generation, the Alpina B7 was widely credited with being able to hold its own against top performing offerings from Mercedes (including AMG) such as the S600 and S63 AMG, Audi (particularly quattro) A8 and S8, the Bentley Flying Spur, and Jaguar, while BMW's own flagship 760Li was considered uncompetitive. The E65 B7 uses a supercharged version of the 4.4-litre V8 found in the BMW 745i as the 750i and its 4.8-liter engine were not around when development began.^[6] The 760Li's naturally aspirated 6.0-litre V12 was deemed too heavy to have a sporty offshoot.^[3][7][8] The 2011 Alpina B7, with its twin-turbo 4.4-liter V8 engine and 6-speed automatic transmission, is less expensive and yet faster than its F01 stablemate, the 2010 BMW 760Li powered by a twin-turbo 6.0-litre V12 mated to an 8-speed automatic transmission. The B7's engine, derived from the BMW N63 that is found in the standard BMW lineup, matches the BMW 750i in fuel economy despite increased performance, plus its lighter weight than the 760Li's V12 engine gives the B7 considerably better weight distribution and handling than the 760Li.^[1][2]

At the present, the only Alpina car offered in the USA has been the Alpina B7. BMW of North America, LLC offered 800 Alpina B7s as limited edition models for 2007 and 2008, which all quickly sold out.^[9] The F01 B7 will be offered again for the 2011 model year in the USA, with approximately 500 vehicles (half of the annual production of the B7) with a choice of rear-wheel drive or all-wheel drive and/or a standard or long wheelbase (the B7, B7 L (long wheelbase), B7 xDrive (all-wheel drive), and B7 L xDrive), otherwise all configurations have the same equipment.^[2][10]

Alpina B3 GT3

To celebrate Alpina's victory in the 2011 ADAC GT Masters with an Alpina B6 GT3, Alpina decided to produce a limited run of the Alpina B3 S Bi-Turbo, called the Alpina B3 GT3^[11]. Modifications on the exhaust system (especially developed in collaboration with Akrapovic) increased power to 300 kW (408 PS; 402 bhp). The brake system and suspension are upgraded and designed for intensive usage.

But the most noticeable is the exterior: The B3 GT3 sports a carbon fibre rear wing, a special front splitter and 19" lightweight Alpina GT3 Classic wheels, painted in Himalaya Grey. The B3 GT3 is available in Black Sapphire metallic, Mineral White metallic, Alpina Blue metallic or with a full body vinyl wrap in the official GT3 design. The car can be ordered with an extra set of lightweight wheels (also 19" Alpina GT3 Classic, but equipped with MICHELIN Pilot Sport Cup+ tyres) for use on the track.

Only 99 units will be produced.

Previous models

Petrol engines

Diesel engines

Gallery

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: BMW Alpina

• 

  Alpina logo on B12 5.7 Coupe

• 

  1984 BMW ALPINA B7 Turbo Coupé / 1

• 

  1974 BMW 3.0 CS 'ALPINA' profile view

• 

  1974 BMW 3.0 CS 'ALPINA' interior

• 

  2007 ALPINA B7

• 

  ALPINA B6

• 

  ALPINA B5

• 

  Alpina B6 S

• 

  Alpina D3

• 

  2011 Alpina B7 BiTurbo

• 

  Alpina B6

• 

  Alpina B5 (2005) engine bay

References

External links

• ALPINA website
• Alpina-Archive
• Alpina Cars Overview of all BMW - ALPINA cars.
• The online owner community for BMW ALPINAs
• Information on Alpina typewriters

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