I hope Alpina don't get bought out by BMW, IMO it will make them lose what makes them special. A bit like comparing AMG's before and after MB bought them, they make some fantastic bits of kit (if only SLS's were cheaper....) but to me they never seemed as special as when AMG fettled with the car independantly. I don't know quite how to explain it, but when they're indipendant they tend not to chase volume and stay a lot more exclusive.
To me a better move for Alpina would be to do engineering & development work for BMW (and maybe even other manufacturers), this would provide them with their income. As a sideline, keep making Alpina cars in low volume which helps them promote their image. Lotus do a lot of engineering work for other manufacturers and although manufacture make cars in bigger volume than Alpina, its their engineering consultancy work that brings in most of their income for Proton.
Alpina in the future
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- ALPIN
- Posts: 738
- Joined: Mon Apr 16, 2007 11:28 am
Being a heretic these days/at the moment I think my 335i SE does everything I'd want out of an Alpina except top speed but I never get the chnace to drive at 155mph anyway
It's fast and luxurious. Specified the way I wanted it's certainly as nice inside and out as any Alpina though I expect some may beg to differ.
Not sure if it's classed as an Individual:
Individual Azurite black, Individual alloys, Individual door strips - but I went this time for the new "Bamboo" wood rather than the Individual anthracite maple I had in the 318.
On top of that: heated red leather seats, 7 sp mDCT, Harman/Kardon, rear sun protection glass, el. folding mirrors, model designation deletion, climate comfort windscreen, smoker's pack deletion, extended storage, extra 12V sockets, high gloss shadowline trim and anthracite headlining
It's fast and luxurious. Specified the way I wanted it's certainly as nice inside and out as any Alpina though I expect some may beg to differ.
Not sure if it's classed as an Individual:
Individual Azurite black, Individual alloys, Individual door strips - but I went this time for the new "Bamboo" wood rather than the Individual anthracite maple I had in the 318.
On top of that: heated red leather seats, 7 sp mDCT, Harman/Kardon, rear sun protection glass, el. folding mirrors, model designation deletion, climate comfort windscreen, smoker's pack deletion, extended storage, extra 12V sockets, high gloss shadowline trim and anthracite headlining
Mark B