Alpina, as we have got to know it over the decades, is no longer. The Bovensiepen family, which the company has owned since its foundation, sold the rights to names and badges to BMW, which the brand raised and not plans to create smaller models. Whatever BMW may wear the Alpina badge from 2026, it won’t be a “real” Alpina because it will not be a car that comes from Buchloe.
But the alpina we know is not dead. It continues to develop and moves more often, but it also remains true to its roots. Since it can no longer use the name Alpina, the company is now called Bovensiepen Automobile and its first product is this absolutely breathtaking Zagato coupé. I admit that I am usually not a fan of some Zagato designs, but the Bovensiepen Zagato is with some of the best efforts from Zagato up there, like the cars that created it for Aston Martin.
This is the first car from Bovensiepen to Alpina: a Zagato-built stunner
We answered the invitation of Bovensiepen to observe the unveiling of the Zagato Coupé near the Como lake, and we were happy to see the car personally and to be renamed more about its history and future direction of the company.
The coupé is based on the G83 BMW M4 Cabriolet, but has a fixed hardtop roof. Bovensiepen chose the drop top as the basis because it did not want a B-pillar, which affects the experience of driving a chic coupé. So they removed the factory roof and its electric folding mechanism and put their own double bubble carbon fiber roof.
How a BMW M4 convertible became a handmade carbon coupe
The body of the entire car is carbon fiber. However, a complete M4 convertible is still hidden under all its factory bodies. Bovensiepen did this because it kept the M4 safety registration information and essentially did not have to homologize as a completely new car. Despite the two body layers, the car remains lighter than the M4 on which it is based, especially because the heavy folding roof has been removed.
It weighs 4.133 LBS (1,875 kg) compared to the M4 (4.243 lbs) donor, i.e. a difference of 110 lbs (50 kg). It is also longer and wider than the M4. It grows from 1.887 mm in width from 74.3 inches to 1,913 mm (4.801 mm) and the length of 4.801 mm to 194.6 inches (4.943 mm), although it does not look like a bigger car when you see it in the metal. It is slightly lower than the M4, but only a few millimeters.
Within the Bovensiepen Zagato: luxury leather, retro details and craftsmanship
Bovensiepen does not try to hide the hardtop design and leaves a clear seam on which the top hits the body. This seam remains visible, since the body flex would finally lead to the color being cracked if it were covered, and there is an additional dose of fate that has been drained off when it was left behind – I thought it added the luxury feeling of the car.
Nevertheless, it is a departure for the company that was previously known as Alpina to make a completely new body for a car. It stores the carbon fiber components and puts everything together in its BuchLee facility, and each car needs over 250 man hours without including the production of each piece.
There is a lot to say about the external design. It improves the width and aggressive attitude of the M4, and the Belt line has a more pronounced rake than in the BMW. The rear flanks have a more visible sharp character line that rises and continues in the large rear spoiler. The wheels nod subtly to the classic alpina design, which is known enthusiasts, and they look great on the car.
Bovensiepen kept the M4 -LCI headlight -interna, but they have a different form that fits very well with the design of the front end, which does not even have a indication of a kidney grid. For the back, the laser lights of the M4/4 Series laser are transmitted unchanged, but they look different in the context of the redesigned back.
The interior of the car is exquisite and uses the same lavalina leather as Alpina vehicles. Bovensiepen calls the shadow of the blue, which is used throughout the “sky”, and although it sounds a bit kitschy and sees the interior personally, it begins to make sense. Just like in Alpinaa, leather covers most surfaces and it is a visual and tactile joy.
The seats are transferred from the M4, but they are redesigned and redesigned for an even more premium aesthetics. The design of the cover for the seating body is completely different from the M4, which indicates the longitudinal cords, which you may see in the classic BMW E9 or in an old Alfa Romeo.
Over 600 hp, carbon everything and limited to just a few hundred units
Under the bonnet, which is also made of carbon fiber and consists of a shaped “Bovensiepen” script on the underside, is an optimized version of the 3-liter 3 liter six-six of the M4-Twin-Twin-Turbo-Sechen. With Bovensiepen’s special recording, turbos and tuning it pumps 61 hp (611 hp) and 516 LB-FT (700 Nm) and sends the car to 62 km/h in 3.3 seconds and over 186 km/h (300 km/h/h).
The bracket, which placed bovensieps for additional torsion stiffness and improved steering feeling over the engine, is raised directly from the M4 CS, but was painted black for a more subtle integration. The engine cover is exactly like the rest of the car in carbon fiber and proudly shows the new Bovensiepen logo, which is new, but it still points to the BMW roots of the car.
Bovensiepen has not published any official production figures for the two-door Zagato number, but it will be somewhere in the low hundreds a year. Since every car sets by hand, the annual production capacity will be very low. Keeping the figure low is also the key to ensure the exclusivity of the cars and its value over time. So she plays the strengths here.
The price target for the vehicle has not been completed and depends on how many cars you will actually build, but you expect the Bovensiepen Zagato between 400,000 and 500,000 euros. It is about four times more than the donor car and in the same price range as the production versions of BMWS Skytop and Speedtop concepts. That seems to be a bit steep, but it offers much more craftsmanship than the BMW. It has a unique body designed by Zagato that really stands out, and it has Alpina’s legacy that supports everything. We look forward to seeing this car on the street and what Bovensiepen has planned next.
