Newly acquired Alpina brand – Munich’s answer to Maybach – will reveal its first car later this year
BMW has revealed further clues to its plans for the recently acquired Alpina brand, unveiling a redesigned badge that’s set to feature on future upmarket BMW Alpina models.
The new badge retains Alpina’s traditional throttle body and crankshaft motifs but renders them in a more precise manner, with a transparent finish. The inner section is encircled by the revised wordmark that BMW revealed at the start of the year, itself a refinement of Alpina’s asymmetrical 1970s typeface.
The update to the badge is the most visible sign yet of how BMW intends to position the 60-year-old marque within its own brand hierarchy following the transfer to BMW of full rights to the Alpina name and trademark on 1 January 2026.
An accompanying image featuring snow-covered mountain tops released with the new badge indicates BMW Alpina will sit at the “peak” of the German car maker’s line-up in a role similar to that of Maybach at Mercedes-Benz.
BMW previously confirmed that BMW Alpina will operate as a stand-alone entity within its “Luxury Layer”, positioned above BMW but below Rolls-Royce.
In further changes, BMW says production of BMW Alpina models will transfer entirely to its own manufacturing plants. The move ends a six-decade arrangement under which Alpina models were partially assembled at BMW before final completion at the performance brand’s historic Buchloe facility in Germany.
Buchloe will continue to operate as the hub for aftersales, parts and heritage services.
BMW is pushing personalisation as a key attribute of BMW Alpina, saying it will offer an “extraordinary range” of bespoke options, allowing customers to create “personal and distinctive automobiles”.
Signature exterior colours, including heritage blue and green, are to be retained, as is a restyled version of Alpina’s classic 20-spoke alloy wheels. The interiors of future BMW Alpina models will also feature upgraded materials separate to those of standard BMW models.
BMW Alpina says it will continue to deliver “exceptional high-speed performance with outstanding levels of comfort” and a specific focus on long-distance touring capability will help to differentiate it from BMW M. The new-to-BMW brand describes its target customer as “connoisseurs who appreciate the exceptional”.
The first BMW Alpina model is expected to be unveiled later this year, with UK sales expected in 2027.
