Burkard Bovensiepen, Founder Of ‘ALPINA’ Which Makes High-performance BMWs, Dies At 87

Burkard Bovensiepen, founder of ‘Alpina’ which makes and sells high-performance versions of BMW cars, dies.

Mr. Burkard Bovensiepen, who founded Alpina in 1965, passed away on October 12th, 2023 at the age of 87.

Alpina works closely with BMW and their processes are integrated into BMW’s production lines in Germany.

German Ministry of Transport recognizes Alpina as a car maker, unlike other performance specialists, which are aftermarket tuners.

Mr. Burkard Bovensiepen, the founder of Alpina Burkard Bovensiepen GmbH and Co. KG (ALPINA brand), has passed away on October 12th, 2023 at the age of 87, his family and employees of the firm he founded in 1965 has just announced.

Burkard adopted the ALPINA name from his father’s typewriter factory – a nod to the nearby Alps and yet international sounding. To make his company known worldwide, ALPINA entered motorsports in the late 1960s.

“Burkard Bovensiepen was deeply passionate about issues that concerned him, whether they were professional, political, or economic… Never seen before in production road cars, he introduced metal catalysts with low exhaust back pressure and highly efficient conversion rates”, Alpina said in a release.

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Burkard Bovensiepen was an ambitious and successful entrepreneur. Some of Alpina’s milestones includes the development of the Weber dual carburetor system for the BMW 1500 in 1974, victories in the European Touring Car Championships in 1970, 1973, and 1977 and the introduction of the BMW ALPINA B10 Bi-Turbo 1989, then the world’s fastest sedan.

Alpina develops and sells high-performance versions of BMW and Mini cars and as of today, Alpina works closely with BMW and their processes are integrated into BMW’s production lines – Alpina B7 is produced at the same assembly line as BMW 7 Series.

The BMW AG and ALPINA have worked closely with one another for over half a century. German Ministry of Transport recognizes Alpina as an automobile manufacturer, in contrast to other performance specialists, which are aftermarket tuners.

Last year on 10 March 2022, BMW announced it had officially acquired the brand, with the ALPINA brand becoming part of the BMW Group, joining Rolls-Royce Motors and Mini brands.

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