BMW Keeps the V8 but Loses Alpina’s Soul

Shortly before Mercedes-AMG unveiled its first electric sports sedan — which looked awful — and Ferrari debuted its Luce — which was underwhelming and messy, even if the hate was exaggerated — BMW also debuted a new car.BMW Alpina Vision Concept. Courtesy of BMWRevealed at the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este, the “Vision BMW Alpina” is, as the name suggests, technically a concept car, but the eventual production version will look very similar. Like the AMG and the Luce, it’s a large, premium four-seater with a swoopy roofline and a premium price tag. But unlike those, it was well-received. Part of that is that the car isn’t ugly. The combination of a swoopy long roofline and a raised, shark-nose front on a more than 200-inch-long coupe has a classic, almost Duesenberg quality. While the Luce and AMG try to hide an aerodynamic blob silhouette, the Alpina concept, in profile, looks like an old-school, swoopy classic coupe. And the powertrain is old-fashioned too.BMW Alpina Vision Concept. Courtesy of BMWBMW Alpina Vision Concept. Courtesy of BMWRather than an expected all-electric, instead, beneath the car’s long hood sits a non-hybridized V8 — no plug, no battery pack — tuned for a burbly exhaust note that BMW describes as rich and sonorous, depending on the revs. In an era of 1000-horsepower EVs, it’s also refreshing for a car brand to highlight the engine sound.It’s a compelling car. And yet, in more important ways than the AMG and Ferrari, this concept is undoing a special part of BMW’s heritage. The AMG is replacing a great-performing but poor-selling V8 model with an electric version that looks worse, will certainly drive worse, and will sell terribly — but it isn’t harming the rest of the AMG lineup, which is far from its peak anyway. The Luce is an effort by Ferrari to expand its customer base, attracting those looking for premium EVs or simply those based in China. In doing so, it gains the money and emissions headroom to keep producing V12 hypercars. EU bureaucrats aren’t the smartest lot, and for some reason, they think that building a bunch of EVs — using batteries whose lithium, cobalt, and nickel are dug and refined through a largely coal-fired supply chain concentrated in China — somehow undoes the greenhouse harm of a handful of hypercars that will be built anyway.BMW Alpina Vision Concept. Courtesy of BMWBut the “Vision” isn’t just a model; it’s a preview for how BMW will handle “Alpina,” a once-separate tuning division it slowly invested in and then agreed to absorb in 2022. It continued making separate models for a while, but now Alpina has been fully devoured by its host, and will now become BMW’s competitor to Mercedes-Maybach: a tier above M, making gaudier, more luxurious cars for those dying to spend $300,000 with BMW. There will be a production version of this concept, but most of its sales will be through logo-festooned versions of the X7.2026 Mercedes Maybach SL680 Monogram. Courtesy of MercedesAnd that’s a smart move, financially. But, in doing so, they’re killing the old Alpina.For those unfamiliar, Alpina was a tuning house that would take BMW’s cars from the factory, strip them back to bare metal, and rebuild them with better performance, luxury, and attention to detail. They were refined and distinct — where M cars are high-revving and track-bred, Alpina cars delivered their power low and early, a torque-rich surge closer to a Bentley than a racetrack — and their unique paint colors, hand-finished interiors, multi-spoke wheels, and signature graphics made them feel truly special. That’s all gone now. Alpina will no longer have a distinct identity and will instead just be a trim level.Bovensiepen 05 GT. Courtesy of BovensiepenThe family that founded Alpina has started its own company, Bovensiepen, and has just made a new car, based on the current M5 Touring. It’s a refined design — much prettier than the car it’s based on — and I’m sure it will drive and feel beautiful. But, like the first Bovensiepen model, it isn’t understated; it’s bland. It looks like what the base-model BMW 5-Series Touring should be — and that’s fine, but not for a price starting at more than $230,000.Bovensiepen 05 GT. Courtesy of BovensiepenThey may improve on this with future models — or customer cars may offer more interesting color and fabric choices than the gray they revealed it in. But for the time being, not only is Alpina gone, but even the family behind it has lost the magic.Bovensiepen 05 GT. Courtesy of Bovensiepen

BMW Keeps the V8 but Loses Alpina’s Soul

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