Alpina

Founded in the early 1960s by Burkard Bovensiepen, Alpina Burkard Bovensiepen GmbH is a German automobile customization company, with a bulk of the modified vehicles being BMW cars. Further embellishing the already posh and high-performance cars, the vehicles rolling off the Alpine assembly line are favoured by fans with a discerning eye. One of the company’s first ventures involved the installation of a Weber dual carburettor in the BMW 1500 in 1961. Between 1968 and 1973, Touring Car Motorsport pilots were employed by Alpine to provide valuable inputs during the modification lifecycle.

In 1970, the Alpina name received credibility by its creations winning the European Touring Car Championship. In 1971, in an effort to lighten the car, Alpine launched the 20 spoke alloy wheels concept, a designing idea that was retained in most of its future cars. In 1973, Alpine made regular-gas engines that combined fuel efficiency with power. 1978 saw the BMW 3-series engine being upgraded from 4 cylinders to 6 cylinders, the new vehicle being known as the BMW Alpina B6. The BMW Alpina B7 Turbo, which was a modified BMW 5-series car, was reputed to be the fastest saloon in the world.

An interesting point is that even after modification, all Alpine vehicles still retain the original BMW warranty. According to the company’s philosophy, Alpine seeks to ‘synthesize fascination and reason’.