THE RACE TO EXCELLENCE

1961 Beginnings

Burkard Bovensiepen starts his automotive activities with the development of a Weber dual carburettor for the new BMW 1500

1964 Weber Dual Carburettor

Produced in his father‘s precision components factory by the young business and engineering student, the engines produced with ALPINA dual-carburettors receive praise not only from the automotive press, but also from BMW and its legendary sales boss, Paul G. Hahnemann.  BMW certify the exceptional quality of these ALPINA products by awarding BMW vehicles with the ALPINA system the full factory guarantee.

1965 Incorporation

ALPINA Burkard Bovensiepen KG is established on the 1st of January in Kaufbeuren. The firm has eight employees

1967 ALPINA Trademark

The name ALPINA is augmented in its profile by the unmistakable, newly-created company logo – trademark & seal of quality in one

1968 Touring Car Racing

ALPINA engages in Touring Car Motorsport – the beginning of a incomparable success story. Between 1968 and 1973, pilots such as Derek Bell, Harald Ertl, James Hunt, Jacky Ickx, Niki Lauda, Brian Muir and Hans Stuck are found on ALPINA’s payroll

1970 ALPINA Wins

ALPINA wins the European Touring Car Championship, the classic 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, as well as all major German Championships: Road Course, Hill-Climb and Rallye

1971 Lightweight Coupé

ALPINA convinces BMW that a lightweight version of the BMW 3.0 CS is needed to continue to be successful in Touring Car racing.  BMW tasks ALPINA with the project leadership for the lightweight BMW 3.0 CSL Coupé.  The ALPINA CLASSIC wheels in 20-spoke design were the visual hallmarks of ALPINA’s participation in a sports machine officially offered by BMW

1973 Motorsport Victories

Derek Bell, Harald Ertl, Niki Lauda and Brian Muir win the European Touring Car Championship for ALPINA and BMW.  Niki Lauda sets an absolute Touring Car record for the six-hour race on the Nurburgring, driving the BMW ALPINA Lightweight Coupé.

Oil Crisis

The oil crisis rocks the motor industry.  ALPINA works through this difficult time without layoffs.  Two factors have a hand in this: the good reputation of the company, as well as the flexible reaction to market needs by a team of employees who were, already then, unusually bound to their firm.  ALPINA develops engines that run on regular petrol – engines that are at once frugal and powerful

1975 Importer Switzerland / England

Collaborating with selected partners from the BMW dealer network, ALPINA begin the development of an official German dealer network.  At the same time, importers in England and Switzerland are established

1977 An Initial End to Racing

Dieter Quester is European Touring Car champion in a BMW ALPINA 3,5 CSL, after exciting battles with the heavily-favoured Jaguar-Coupés.  At the end of this successful season, ALPINA steps out of Touring Car racing for a period of ten years, to dedicate all efforts to the development of fascinating road-going automobiles

1978 Computer Ignition

ALPINA presents three automobiles, each completely developed at ALPINA.  The BMW ALPINA B6 2,8 is a 3 Series BMW with a six-cylinder engine, at a time when BMW only sold 3-Series with four-cylinder engines.  The BMW ALPINA B7 Turbo, based on the 5 Series BMW, is the fastest saloon in the world.  With 300 horsepower, the B7 Turbo Coupé establishes itself amongst the most powerful Coupés.  Each of these new-generation ALPINA engines have a fully-electronic computer ignition, unique at the time in the automotive world

1981 Shell Kilometer Marathon

„auto motor und sport“ organises the Shell Kilometer Marathon, a fuel-saving challenge.  The 80mpg-car was not yet a topic, yet a BMW ALPINA 318i wins in class with fuel economy of 105.72miles per Imperial gallon

1983 ALPINA Conferred Manufacturer Status

ALPINA is officially registered as an automobile manufacturer by the German Ministry of Transport, the Kraftfahrtbundesamt

1985 Metal Catalytic Converters

ALPINA converts its entire automotive production to engines with catalytic converters.  What’s unique about this is that instead of installing the more commonly used ceramic catalytic converters standard in the automotive industry,  ALPINA are the first manufacturer to exclusively install metal catalytic converters, using EMITEC technology.  Not until years later will this concept be found in other high-technology automobiles

1987 Racing the DTM

The International German Touring Car Championship enjoys great public interest, thanks in part to new rules decisively influenced by Burkard Bovensiepen.  Ellen Lohr, Andy Bovensiepen, Fabièn Giroix, Peter Oberndorfer and Christian Danner, driving the BMW ALPINA M3 Gruppe A, earn multiple victories, along with many good placings.  ALPINA are also pioneers in terms of the environmental impact of racing cars – the metal catalyst debuts in the BMW ALPINA M3 Gruppe A and becomes standard equipment in every DTM race car

1988 An End to Racing

Due to capacity constraints, priorities have to be drawn.  The decision is taken in favour of the development and production of new BMW ALPINA automobiles.  As a result, ALPINA withdraw at season's end from racing

1989 B10 Bi-Turbo

ALPINA create a highlight in presenting the B10 Bi-Turbo.  Paul Frère, the well-known journalist and racing driver, writes in Road & Track about this automobile: "For me this is the car … I think this is the best 4-door in the world "

1990  120 Employees

ALPINA expand.  The number of employees has grown in the meantime to 120, necessitating the construction of a new, generously-dimensioned building for administration and production

1992 SHIFT-TRONIC

With the advent of the BMW ALPINA B12 5,7 Coupé, ALPINA is the first automobile manufacturer to realise an electronic clutch management system termed ALPINA SHIFT-TRONIC.  Foregoing use of the clutch is a breeze in light of the six-speed gearbox' dynamic driving characteristics

1993 SWITCH-TRONIC

ALPINA SWITCH-TRONIC opens a new, sporty automatic driving dimension.  The combination of manual gear selection coupled to the traditional ease of driving an automatic convinces many died-in-the-wool stick-shift drivers to make the move to this modern automatic system.  One of the merits of ALPINA's SWITCH-TRONIC is the ability to shift the gears using buttons on the back of the steering wheel, much like Formula racing drivers shift their semi-automatic gearboxes

1995 SUPERCAT

As found standard on the BMW ALPINA B12 5.7 E-KAT, ALPINA is the first automobile manufacturer to introduce an electrically-heated, metal catalytic converter, the SUPER-CAT, into series production.  This joint project with BMW and EMITEC represents the use of a completely new emissions control technology, undercutting the 1996 European emission standard by 80% with regard to HC, NOx and CO, respectively

1999 D10 Bi-Turbo

A new era begins:  ALPINA present a diesel automobile for the first time in its 35-year history, the BMW ALPINA D10 BITURBO, at the Geneva Salon d'Automobile - the most powerful diesel saloon in the world.  The engineering development of the super-diesel is a co-operative project between BMW and ALPINA

2002 Roadster V8

Based on the BMW Z8, ALPINA build the BMW ALPINA ROADSTER V8 with SWITCH-TRONIC for friends of luxurious and comfortable open motoring.  A limited series of 555 automobiles world-wide, this exclusive model leads ALPINA to officially enter the North American market.

2003 Radial Compressor

With the advent of the BMW ALPINA B7, ALPINA realise a new engine concept, a mechanically-driven radial compressor – combining for the first time ever charging and VALVETRONIC – this leading to very low fuel consumption on this 500-horsepower automobile

2005 BMW ALPINA B5

The super-charged 4,4ltr ALPINA V8 is now available in the 5 Series range.  The BMW ALPINA B5 is seen by many friends of ALPINA as the legitimate successor to the legendary B10 Bi-Turbo.  The B5's phenomenal performance places it amongst the best-known sportscars in the world

2007 BMW ALPINA B3 Bi-Turbo

ALPINA continues the 3-Series success story with the 3.0-litre, six-cylinder B3-Bi-Turbo:  design and technology combine to form a fascinating mix.  In 1978, the legendary BMW ALPINA B6 2,8 began the successful run that continues to this day, with nearly 6,000 3-Series-based automobiles built to date.  In fact, each of the B6 2.8's successors have always been at the head of their respective classes

2008 New Engineering, Testing and Development Centre

With a desire to expand technical know-how, ALPINA builds a new centre for engineering, testing and development.  It is the largest expansion in the company’s history.  The engineering centre will allow ALPINA to bring new products to market more quickly, as well as drive the ALPINA product line-up forward.