- Adrian Van Hooydonk says the chassis choice was deliberate and symbolic.
- Designers wanted more than another BMW with extra trim and power.
- The concept hints at Alpina becoming its own thing inside the BMW group.
For decades, Alpina technically existed outside of BMW, even if the two were joined at the hip. Now that the latter has absorbed the former, everyone has wondered how the two will coexist. Would Alpina simply turn into another trim level atop the BMW pipeline? Would we end up with models that bastardized the brand like an X2 Alpina Sport at some point down the line?
Evidently, the answer is no, and BMW set about proving it not just with the stunning looks of the Vision BMW Alpina, but by building it on top of a car it doesn’t even make anymore. That’s right. The concept isn’t riding on a 7-Series chassis or a stretched 4-Series. It’s sitting on the bones of the discontinued 8-Series Gran Coupe.
Read: BMW’s First In-House Alpina Skips The EV Era And Goes Straight To A V8 GT
Speaking to BMW Blog, BMW design boss Adrian van Hooydonk said, “We deliberately chose to take something that is not already in existence, because we want to make clear this is a new chapter for ALPINA, and it’s not a thin layer on the BMW. We want to set the brand on its own course within the BMW Group. There’s no better way of documenting that than to do a standalone vehicle.”
Photos BMW Group
That’s a statement in the build itself, even more than openly talking about it. At first glance, using a dead platform might seem odd. If BMW wanted to put it into production, it would be a massive headache. In reality, it’s as much of a symbolic choice as it is anything. The German automaker could’ve done simply used a 7-Series and probably built something similarly pretty.
Photos BMW Group
That said, picking something from outside the lineup communicates separation from the main brand about as clearly as it could. Alpina is sometimes compared to AMG and while the two share similarities, the former has long leaned a bit heavier into long-distance effortless speed than the latter.
There’s a bigger play here too. Munich is positioning Alpina as a new tier between BMW and Rolls-Royce, which puts Mercedes-Maybach and Bentley squarely in its sights, along with certain newcomers like Lucid in the US market.
Plenty of BMW fans worried the Alpina acquisition would end up turning it into just another trim level, but now, the concept suggests otherwise both in shape and in platform. Don’t get us wrong. This is just the start. BMW and Alpina will need to keep up the distinction. But it is a good start in more ways than one.
