Burkard Bovensiepen: Memories of the visionary ‘Mr Alpina’

In October 2023, a witty, ingenious, visionary perfectionist and entrepreneur left the stage of the big automotive business – Burkhard Bovensiepen. On 1 September 2026, he would have turned 90.

One thing was clear right from the start of his rapidly expanding business to Bovensiepen (BuBo for short), who had shown foresight even in his early years: ‘Motor racing was essential for making a name for ourselves and for demonstrating our reliability. The secret to our success was, in fact, our relative reliability. Our motto, ‘durable and fast cars’, paid off – in sport as well as in business.”

This sums up Bovensiepen’s fundamental approach to the interplay between business and motor racing. There is no evidence anywhere that Bovensiepen had a deep-seated love of motor racing, but given the level-headedness with which he tackled the challenges he set himself, it can be assumed that he secretly took great delight in racing on the track.

What began with comparatively simple yet highly sophisticated carburettor systems and a focus on BMW vehicles led, over the decades, to the company being regarded as one of the finest names in the motoring industry.

And almost throughout the entire period between those early years in the 1960s and the 2000s, motor racing served as a showcase for the special capabilities that the name and the term ALPINA (Bovensiepen always attached great importance to capital letters) were intended to convey.

Topic of the week

Ferrari row with Hamilton and Leclerc: Team principal Vasseur must now step up

Ferrari came away empty-handed at the Dutch Grand Prix: Lewis Hamilton finished fourth, Charles Leclerc fifth. Afterwards, both drivers were angry, and team principal Fred Vasseur found himself having to explain the situation.

Mathias Brunner

Read more

What Alpina achieved on the racetrack under Bovensiepen’s leadership has long since become part of motorsport history: to lend its presence an extra touch of glamour, Alpina signed up the great masters of high-speed racing.

Aces such as Niki Lauda, Helmut Marko, James Hunt, Jacky Ickx and Hans-Joachim Stuck took turns at the wheel of the 1600-2, the 2002 and the 2800 Coupés.

The 1973 season stands out from the record of achievements because the European Touring Car Championship was so unpredictable that, even in hindsight, it is regarded as one of the most thrilling racing seasons of all time in touring car racing. The balance of power swung wildly between the works teams of Ford and BMW. And the fact that BMW ultimately won the title is largely attributable to the performance of the Alpina team: the manufacturers’ championship for the Munich-based marque and the drivers’ title for Toine Hezemans, who at times switched from the works car to the Alpina CSL, thereby boosting his points tally.

However, Bovensiepen’s contribution to this landmark success lies in a completely different area. Ultimately, it was he who convinced BMW that, to achieve greater success, a lightweight coupé was essential. He presented a plausible set of specifications and built a prototype, which ultimately led to BMW putting the 3.0 CSL into production; Alpina even supplied the parts to BMW for this, thus becoming the driving force behind an icon of motoring history.

Another of the many sporting highlights was the 1977 European Touring Car Championship, featuring a fierce battle between the Alpina team and the works Jaguars, which were clearly superior in terms of performance. In the end, however, the title went to Dieter Quester in the Alpina 3.0 CSL – supported by professionals such as Gunnar Nilsson, Toine Hezemans and Tom Walkinshaw; incidentally, this was Quester’s third of four European Championship titles.

After a creative hiatus, Alpina cars returned to the DTM in 1987. The highlight of this phase was Christian Danner’s one-two finish as early as the second race of the season at Hockenheim. And with the first use of metal catalytic converters, Alpina had once again made its mark – in this case, an ecological one.

The list of best-selling Alpina road cars – with their ever-distinctive styling, such as the unmistakable spoke wheels – includes, over the years, such impressive models as the C1, B10, B12, XD3 Bi-Turbo All-Wheel Drive and B7 Bi-Turbo, each featuring the latest technical innovations, have consistently topped the list.

The technical highlights associated with these vehicles would fill pages; here are just a few key points: catalytic converter technology, fuel injection systems, turbo and bi-turbo technology, fully electronic computerised ignition, high-performance diesel engines, a whole host of measures to boost performance whilst reducing fuel consumption – not to mention the most refined power delivery.

BuBo was – in keeping with his nature, which was drawn to all that was good and beautiful – a true connoisseur. His culinary creations, whether at motor shows or in the paddock, have long since become the stuff of legend. A world-renowned car manufacturer, whilst also running a vast cellar of the finest wines as a further source of income – that was the world in which the connoisseur Burkard Bovensiepen moved.

Burkard Bovensiepen proved time and again just how combative a spirit he could be. Perhaps the most spectacular of these stunts was this: in 1985, he launched a nationwide advertising campaign on transport policy for half a million DM under the headline ‘Dear Federal Government!’. In it, he personally lambasted, with a sharp pen, what he saw as the government’s mistakes regarding cars and transport, and argued that a speed limit was an ineffective measure.

For several years now, Bovensiepen’s sons Andreas and Florian have been running the business. They are continuing to do so as part of the reorientation that accompanies BMW AG’s acquisition of the brand rights. According to Alpina, this reorientation was necessary because ‘the demands and risks for small-series manufacturers are increasing significantly’.

Meanwhile, with the BOVENSIEPEN 05 GT and the BOVENSIEPEN ZAGATO, the new company is demonstrating that it is determined to continue ALPINA’s remarkable journey into the future.