Alpina to switch from performance to luxury
Storied German tuning house is about to become to BMW luxury what M is to BMW performanceBMW’s newly acquired brand Alpina will move upwards in price and luxury, which could mean the end of the storied tuner’s reworked 3, 4 and 5 Series models.
The head of BMW’s luxury operation, encompassing the BMW X7 and the 7 Series as well as Rolls-Royce, insists the Alpina brand will move into the enormous chasm between the top of the BMW brand and the bottom of the Rolls-Royce range.
“There is space between the top of BMW at €200,000-€220,000 and the bottom of Rolls-Royce, which starts at around €350,000,” said BMW’s Vice President, Head of Series Luxury Class, Christian Tschurtschenthaler.
“It [Alpina] will not be more sporty. That’s not what we plan to do with Alpina.
“Does it make sense then that someone spends that €250,000 or €300,000 money on an Alpina then sees a B3 come alongside at a traffic light?”
Alpina is a relatively recent entry to the Australian premium market, with the 3 Series-based B3 sedan and wagon, the 8 Series-based B8 Gran Coupe and the $265K XB7, based on the BMW X7 flagship SUV.
Based in Buchloe, Germany, Alpina has refettled BMWs for more than 50 years, and its existing co-operation agreement was scheduled to end in 2025 before BMW took over the brand rights to Alpina Burkard Bovensiepen GmbH in March this year.
Alpina will continue to build B3s and B5s until 2025, though all bets are off beyond that, according to Tschurtschenthaler.
“For sure, it will not get sportier than it is now. That’s not where we are moving it and there is no sense to have two BMW M brands. Alpina will now be more about luxury.”
However, Tschurtschenthaler would not be drawn into whether Alpina would have a stand-alone luxury model, in the way BMW M is about to have its XM plug-in hybrid V8 super-SUV.
“There would have to be a big examination of the volume potential and the margins before we would commit to a stand-alone Alpina model,” he said.
“It doesn’t seem the most likely path to take to the future.”
Related: New Alpina B3 revealed and priced
Related: Alpina XB7 gains mild-hybrid V8 and styling refresh
Related: Fast Alpina B4 Gran Coupe teased
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