After more than 50 years of collaboration, the Bavarian giant has acquired performance touring collaborator Alpina in a bid to secure its future beyond the end of its current partnership, in 2025.
Alpina was founded in 1965 and developed a reputation for excellence in motorsport, securing numerous victories at prestigious events, including the Spa 24 Hour.
By 1988, the German tuner had retired from racing to pursue the creation of beefed up BMW road cars. Today, their line-up consists of bespoke, luxury performance alternatives to the standard Bimmer, like the M5-based B5 Touring for example.
BMW claims that tightening emissions and safety regulations, as well as the transition to electric vehicles, poses “significantly higher risks for small-series manufacturers”.
The acquisition of the brand and its trademarks will ensure the continuation of the brand with BMW planning to refocus Alpina’s direction, continuing operations from Buchloe, simply in a different form.
“We recognised the challenges facing the automotive industry early on and are now setting the right course for Alpina and for our family firm, Bovensiepen. This marks the beginning of a new chapter,” co-managing director Andreas Bovensiepen said.
“Both the Alpina brand and our company are extremely desirable. We made a conscious decision not to sell Alpina to just any manufacturer, because BMW and Alpina have worked together and trusted one another for decades. That is why it is the right decision strategically for the Alpina brand to be managed by the BMW Group in the future.”
Financial details are yet to be disclosed and the deal remains the subject of a number of formal approval processes.
