ALPINAs have always catered to the “if you know, you know” crowd, featuring subtle design tweaks over their equivalent BMW counterparts. However, that could soon change once the Munich-based automaker takes full control of the niche brand. Future models from Buchloe might differentiate themselves more dramatically from their donor cars than current offerings.

BMW Group Head of Design Adrian van Hooydonk told Autocar that the company has already laid the groundwork for giving BMW and ALPINA distinct identities. Former Polestar design boss Maximilian Missoni has been tasked with shaping future ALPINAs, as well as BMWs from the 5 Series and up. Van Hooydonk clarified that both brands will still share a unified design language, so radical departures between badges aren’t expected. For now, there’s no official word on a bespoke ALPINA model.

“It will still remain one design language,” van Hooydonk said, “but the teams are smaller in size and the workload is now divided over multiple shoulders. That will simply lead, I believe, to better-quality results and will set us up for more growth in the near future.”

Before the current agreement expires at the end of this year, BMW remains tight-lipped about its post-takeover plans for ALPINA. Official details are expected to be announced in 2026. In the meantime, reports suggest the B7 is poised for a return, possibly under a new name and in fully electric form alongside a powerful V8 variant. A successor to the XB7 is also said to be in development, based on the second-generation X7 (G67) and also with an EV derivative to boot.

What else is on the horizon? With rumors hinting at a push upmarket, ALPINA could phase out its more accessible models. The B5 is already gone, and it’s likely the B3 and B4 won’t be around much longer either. We recall a telling remark from BMW’s former Head of Luxury Class, Christian Tschurtschenthaler: “Does it make sense that someone spending €250,000 or €300,000 on an ALPINA then sees a B3 pull up at a traffic light?”

Tschurtschenthaler also pointed out a gap between the priciest BMWs and the most affordable Rolls-Royces: “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.”

Source: Autocar