ALPINA founder and respected developer of performance BMWs, Burkard Bovensiepen has passed away, aged 87.
In a company statement ALPINA said, “Burkard Bovensiepen was a visionary, a perfectionist, and a man of clear ideas. When he had an idea in mind, he never tired of refining it, until it matched his vision and expectations to 100%.”
Bovensiepen was born in 1936 in Chemnitz and from a young age, developed a burning passion for cars.
After graduating from high school, he completed a toolmaking apprenticeship, moving onto mechanical engineering at TU Munich, before switching to business administration.
In the early 60s, Bovensiepen developed a performance carburettor intake that was bolted to the state-of-the-art, four-cylinder engine, of the new BMW 1500.
Development was completed in 1963 and the car tested by the respected German “auto motor und sport” magazine, which provided an excellent review. The first ALPINA intake product was born.
The 1963 Frankfurt Motor Show took place, but Bovensiepen couldn’t afford a booth, so he tucked a brochure for his carby intake under the wipers of every BMW 1500, in the car park. He sold his first 100 kits.
BMW was impressed with Bovensiepen’s work and advised customers, the performance enhancement could be added to the engine, with the BMW warranty remaining valid.
“Essentially it was a nod of approval from the BMW board,” said ALPINA.
In 1965 ALPINA was established, inspiration for the company name coming from Bovensiepen’s father’s typewriter factory, located at the nearby Alps.
Giving ALPINA global recognition, it entered motorsport in the late 1960s to showcase its technical know-how. Its drivers on the payroll included Derek Bell, James Hunt, Jacky Ickx, Niki Lauda, Hans Stuck, and Dieter Quester.
ALPINA and BMW won the European Touring Car Championship in 1970, 1973, and 1977, along with many national championships and the Spa 24-hour race. During 1971 Bovensiepen led the project management for the BMW 3.0 CSL.
It took until 1978, for ALPINA to reveal its own, in-house developed cars; the BMW ALPINA B6 2.8, BMW ALPINA B7 Turbo and BMW ALPINA B7 Turbo coupe.
Five years later ALPINA registered itself as a car manufacturer with the Federal Motor Transport Authority.
In 1989 it debuted the BMW ALPINA B10 Bi-Turbo, then the world’s fastest sedan, followed by the ALPINA SWITCH-TRONIC in 1993, allowing manual shifting of an automatic transmission using steering-wheel mounted buttons.
1995 saw the BMW ALPINA B8 4.6 – the first BMW 3 Series with a V8 engine and in 1999 came the brand’s foray into diesel power.
From 2002, Bovensiepen’s two sons, Andreas and Florian Bovensiepen, jointly managed the company with their father, who was focusing more time on the burgeoning ALPINA wine business.
The following year ALPINA entered the US market with their V8 Roadster, based on the BMW Z8 and another milestone was achieved in 2021, with sales exceeding 2000 units.
Over half a century after its establishment and alliance with BMW, the Munich marque bought the rights to the ALPINA brand in 2022.
From Unique Cars #485, Nov 2023
Photography: Unique Cars Archives/ALPINA-Automobiles