The future of Alpina in its new era of BMW control has been previewed by a grand tourer concept unveiled at the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este in Italy.
The Vision Alpina is a shark-nosed 2+2 coupé that, at 5.2m, is as long as a Rolls-Royce Wraith.
While it will not directly spawn a production model, it serves as an aesthetic manifesto for a showroom range that will be priced above any current BMW model – but without reaching the heights of the BMW Group’s luxury flagship brand, Rolls-Royce.
The concept is the first official look at where BMW plans to take the Alpina brand after the transition to full ownership from Bovensiepen was completed earlier this year.
The first production car, confirmed previously to Autocar as being based on the BMW 7 Series, will be unveiled in 2027 and the first deliveries will take place in early 2028.
Nods to the past
Maximilian Missoni, BMW’s lead for the mid-size and luxury classes and former Polestar design boss, told Autocar that Alpina’s 60-year brand heritage was being treated with “utter care” and that the much-loved B7 Turbo of 1978 (B7S Turbo pictured below) had served as direct inspiration for the Vision Alpina.
Indeed, the concept features elements that stay true to its Bovensiepen roots, such as the multi-spoke wheels, wordmarked chin spoiler and quad-exhaust tips.
The concept also gets a new, more minimalist take on the Deko Set stripes, which, in keeping with BMW’s ambition to push the brand further upmarket than before, will be hand-painted on production cars rather than being decals, as was typically the case previously.
The use of subtle chrome on the so-called draught surfaces at the front of the concept is meant as a gentle nod to the BMW 507 and is likely to feature on Alpina’s production cars, which will inherit their silhouette from mainline BMW models.
