Alpina

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 the German Ministry of Transport 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-litre 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.
The firm was founded in 1965 by Burkard Bovensiepen, a member of the Bovensiepen family of industrialists.

History

The beginnings of Alpina found its roots in 1962 as the Weber dual carburetor was developed for the new BMW 1500. The company would not be officially founded until a few years later as the Weber dual carburetor came to completion and was certified around 1964 by BMW, receiving praise from the chief of sales, Paul Hahnemann.

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.

The name Alpina would come to be amplified and recognized on new levels in 1967 with the inception its current and ever-enduring company logo and trademark.

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.

Alpina officially withdrew from racing in 1988 because of capacity limitations and restrictions. Tied to this was the decision to begin production on a new set of BMW Alpina automobiles.

Brand distinctions

Since 1983 Alpina has been recognized by the German Federal Ministry of Transport 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, pinstriped style 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 at lower rpm.