Alpina

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Not to be confused with Renault Alpine.
Not to be confused with Alpina Productos Alimenticios.
Alpina Burkard Bovensiepen GmbH
Type Public
Founded 1965
Headquarters Buchloe, Germany
Key people Burkard Bovensiepens
Industry Automotive
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.

Contents

[edit] History

Alpina was founded by Burkard Bovensiepen, (b. 1936) who is still the CEO, started in 1965 with the foundation of Burkard Bovensiepen KG at Kaufbeuren in the southern German province of Bavaria. The original name can be traced to Dr. Rudolf Bovensiepen, his father, whose company's purpose was to make 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.

[edit] 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. Also 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.

Most recently Alpina have produced a version of the current BMW E60 5-Series called the B5. The B5 offers a different take on performance and how to get it: unlike the V10 M5, the ALPINA B5 uses a supercharged V8 which produces similar power but has far greater torque.

[edit] 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)
  • ALPINA B3 Bi-Turbo Sedan / Touring / Coupe and Cabrio: based on the BMW E90/E91/E92/E93 335i
  • ALPINA B5s Sedan/Touring: based on the BMW E60 5 Series - featuring a 4.4 L V8 supercharged 530 PS (390 kW; 520 hp) / 725 N·m (535 lb·ft)
  • ALPINA B6s Coupé/Cabriolet: based on the BMW 6 Series - featuring a 4.4 L V8 supercharged 530 PS (390 kW; 520 hp) / 725 N·m (535 lb·ft)
  • 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 (520 lb·ft)[1]

[edit] Previous models

[edit] Previous diesel models

  • ALPINA D3 Sedan/Touring based on the BMW E90 320d - 200 PS (150 kW; 200 hp)
  • ALPINA D10 Sedan/Touring based on the BMW E39 530d - featuring sequential turbochargers (biturbo) 245 PS (180 kW; 242 hp) / 390 N·m (290 lb·ft)

[edit] Gallery

Alpina logo on B12 5.7 Coupe

1974 BMW 3.0 CS 'ALPINA' profile view

1974 BMW 3.0 CS 'ALPINA' interior

right|ALPINA B7

ALPINA B6

ALPINA B5

Alpina B6 S

Alpina D3

[edit] References

  1. ^ Geneva 2009: An M7 by any other name - 2009 BMW Alpina B7 Bi-Turbo

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpina"