After Decades of Collaboration, BMW Acquires High-Performance Tuner Alpina
BMW is finally ready to take its relationship with Alpina to the next level.
The German marque announced on Thursday that it has acquired the well-regarded tuning outfit responsible for some of the most desirable bimmers in recent memory. Starting in 2026, it sounds like all Alpina models will come straight from BMW.
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The biggest surprise about the acquisition may be that it’s taken so long. Although it originally started as a typewriter business, Alpina began tuning BMWs way back in 1965, quickly developing a solid reputation in European racing circles. In 1978, the tuner began building cars based on BMW models and has been registered as an official automotive manufacturer in Germany since 1983. Its modified cars tend to combine boundary-pushing performance with subtle makeovers and are so well regarded that they inspired a book.
BMW
Thursday’s announcement makes clear that nothing will change in the immediate future. In 2020, BMW and Alpina extended their long-standing corporate agreement through the end of 2025, and that will remain the case. It’s unclear what will happen after that point, though. What we do know is that Alpina will stop building vehicles at its Buchloe factory but will continue its legacy service, parts and accessory business out of the location. It seems all but certain that future Alpina cars and SUVS will come directly from BMW.
“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,” the tuner’s co-managing director Andreas Bovensiepen said in a statement. “That is why it is the right decision strategically for the Alpina brand to be managed by the BMW Group in the future.”
Regardless, the decision is good news for BMW fans. Over the last couple years, Mercedes-Benz and Audi have dominated the conversation around German luxury cars. More input from Alpina seems like just the sort of thing that will get people talking about BMWs again.
At the very least, maybe it’ll finally stop the handwringing about that kidney grill size.
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