The future isn’t a secret anymore. The Vision BMW Alpina concept shows exactly where the subbrand is headed. It is bright. It is fast. It is comfortable.
Comfort Wins
Alpina wasn’t always inside BMW’s family tree. Founded by Burkard Bovensiepen in 1965 it started as an independent tuner. He wanted one thing specifically: speed that didn’t feel like punishment. Bovensiepen once added padding to a race car seat because a light but brutal seat shell was too tiring to drive. Saving weight mattered less than not hurting. Now BMW has officially pulled Alpina into the fold. The mission remains unchanged. Build quick cars. Make them nice.
The Vision concept debuted at the Concorso d’Eleganza in Cernobbio. It happens this weekend in Italy. The car itself is a massive coupe. Two hundred four-point-seven inches long. Seats four. Under the hood sits a V-8. Details are thin. But a first production car arrives next year. It will likely use the same powertrain. And yes. It is based on the 7-Series.
Design Tells History
The look screams 1970s Alpina. Especially the nose. That sharp “shark” front end references the B7s from decades ago. Side stripes? They are back. They are called deco lines. The wheels have twenty spokes. Anything else feels wrong for Alpina. A strict rule for wheel design.
One crease defines the shape though. It starts low at the front corner. It rises six degrees toward the rear. They call it a speed feature line. The exhaust tips are quad and elliptical. Visual flair for the rear view.
The Comfort Plus Button
Is it fast? Sure. There is a Speed mode. But the real joke is the other setting. It is called Comfort Plus. Because standard Comfort apparently wasn’t soft enough.
The rear seat is for relaxation. Not just riding along. Passengers get glass water bottles. Stored neatly behind the console. Not decanters. Just practical hydration. Magnetic mounts hold crystal glasses in place. Wait. You might be wondering who actually needs a chandelier of drinking glassware in a concept car. Each glass features 20 etched lines. To match the wheels. Of course it does.
The dashboard uses BMW’s Panoramic iDrive system. The passenger gets their own screen. Why? We don’t really know yet. But it is there. Glowing away.
Good Choice
In the 1960s Bovensiepen could have sold typewriters. Instead he tuned BMWs. It was a better bet. He probably laughed at the alternative. BMW took its sweet time adopting him though. Years and years of independence before becoming official. The Vision car makes us wait a little less though. The production version drops next year.
It might not be ready to buy today. But the direction is clear. Fast. Soft. And unmistakably Alpina.
