Alpina Founder Burkard Bovensiepen Dies At 87

Burkard Bovensiepen, the legend behind the iconic Alpina brand, has died. He was 87 years old.

Alpina Belgium announced the news on Facebook with a short tribute honoring the man who founded one of the most desirable BMW tuners ever. Bovensiepen first caught the attention of the BMW community in the 1960s when he designed a Weber dual carburetor for the BMW 1500.

According toAlpina Archives, Bovensiepen saw a gap in the market for power upgrades after BMW introduced the 1800, leaving new owners of the 1500 understandably disappointed. He took the opportunity to create an upgrade, which was so well-received that it won over not only the automotive press but BMW's sales boss, Paul G. Hahnemann.

In fact, Hahnemann was so impressed that, in 1965, BMW said it would honor factory guarantees of all vehicles fitted with Bovensiepen's new Alpina system.

That same year, Bovensiepen would establish Alpina Burkard Bovensiepen KG in Kaufbeuren. After dabbling in the stock market with some success, he financed his new tuning company that initially focused on uprated cylinder heads and sportier carburetors.

Five years later, Alpina's staff had grown to 70 people, and the company moved to Buchloe, where the headquarters remain. Later, the company would become known for its carburetor and crankshaft tuning, represented in Alpina's logo.

阿尔enjoyed great success in motorsport, racking up wins at the Spa 24 Hours and the European Touring Car Championship, to name a few competitions.

In 1983, Alpina received the highest possible honor from the German government: The Federal Ministry of Transport deemed it a fully-fledged independent automaker. As a result, Alpina cars receive unique VINs and are registered as Alpinas, not BMWs.