Check out BMW's redesigned Alpina emblem
New logo may be less colourful, but BMW insists it's 'sensitive' to brand's modernisation
There’s been a fair bit of uncertainty surrounding BMW’s acquisition of Alpina. The German car gaint announced that it had bought the tuner all the way back in 2022, but only last month did the rights transfer from Buchloe to Munich, which coincided with the release of a redesigned Alpina logo. A month on and there’s a new trademark to pore over, this one being a fresh take on the Alpina roundel that’ll soon be adorning a steering wheel of a new wave of upmarket Bimmers.
As with last month’s logo redesign, the new emblem looks to be a faithful (if not as vibrant) modernisation of the iconic Alpina badge. The most important carried over elements, save the name, are the throttle body and crankshaft in the centre of the roundel, which are near identical in style to the old logo only with the red and blue highlights making way for a transparent background with white outlines. There has been on major omission, though, that being the signature shield that houses the two engine components. Granted, it’s not as dramatic a loss as, say, Jaguar reducing the leaper to a small, laser-etched panel vent on its Type 00 concept, but it does spoil the grandeur of the original somewhat.
That aside, BMW confirmed the level of luxury that Alpina owners are accustomed to will carry over to the new models, touting an ‘extraordinary range of personalisation options’ and ‘superior quality leather’ for all models. It’s also revealed that only a handful of facilities have been cherry-picked for manufacturing new Alpina models so as to meet the tuner’s famously high production standards. You can also expect the usual Alpina hallmarks, albeit with a modern twist. Alpina’s distinct colours and its trademark multi-spoke 20-inch wheels have undergone a ‘sensitive’ redesign, and you can bet there’ll be some sort of subtle bodykit to further distinguish them from BMW’s regular lineup.
So the company appears to be taking its acquisition of Alpina very seriously, which ought to come as a relief to the tuner’s cult-like following, who have spent the last couple of years wondering whether the name would return at all. Still, we won’t know for sure what BMW has in store until the first new models arrive, which aren’t due until later this year. In the meantime, you can always nab yourself a pre-merger, Buchloe-built Alpina like this green over tan B3 Touring for £79,995. Not cheap, of course, but you have to imagine that will undercut anything that BMW has in mind for Alpina’s new era. Grab the oldies while you can…
Let's hope BMW don't devalue the legacy by making it a 'trim level' now.
More or less, the direction was/is BMW M cars but with softer suspension and nicer interiors.
They are really compelling vehicles.
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