ALPINA 60 Years Event

Some events you feel coming years in advance. You know they will happen one day, but you wonder whether you will still be there to see it. For me, that was the ALPINA 60 Years Anniversary Event.

As the proud owner of a 2017 BMW ALPINA D3 Touring Bi-Turbo (F31), bought back then from Jean-Michel Martin, now BMW Pautric, this moment had lived in my head for eight years. Because ALPINA stood at a turning point:

• The end of classic Buchloe production

• The integration into BMW

• The great uncertainty over the survival of events like this one

The 50 Years Event I only just missed, two years too late with the purchase. But this time was different. This time I would be there.

Almost 2,000 kilometres to a dream

On Saturday 13 September the day had finally come. The D3 got a quick check-up at BMW Patrick Smets, because you do not take on a 2,000-kilometre drive on gut feeling. My ALPINA sits still more often these days and only comes out for the truly meaningful moments. This was one of them.

Driven almost non-stop. Barely any sleep. A quick car wash near Penzing, the former military base where the event took place, right next to Buchloe. You do not turn up to a 60th anniversary in a dirty ALPINA, do you?

A sea of blue-and-green perfection

As we drove onto the base, we could already see them glinting in the sun. Rows. Hundreds. More than 1,000 ALPINAs. From afar it looked like a kind of shrine. Up close it felt like stepping into a dream.

My own D3 was grouped with the F3x generation, while the oldest models, perhaps just like their owners, stood closest to the activities. A little wink at the average age group, but mostly a logical layout: from modern to timeless.

Step out and your jaw drops. That is what ALPINA does to you. It is not a brand, it is an emotion. We immediately ran into Belgian friends, who had come down in a B3 Touring of their own. But first, a look around. First, get lost in it all.

Colours you will never see on the road

We started with the newest generations (G2x and G3x) and slowly walked towards the classics. But us? We are always drawn first to colour. Individual. Special Request. The wild combinations you only get through ALPINA.

And then we saw it: a BMW ALPINA B3 GT Touring with a full Lavalina interior. Not just any leather: the kind of hide that belongs in a Rolls-Royce. The kind of leather you do not stroke, but whisper softly against. Including a bespoke Lavalina travel bag, pure art.

The owner, who had come all the way from Great Britain (typically ALPINA-mad Brits), recognised our content and even corrected us on the body colour. I thought it was Verde Ermes, but it turned out to be Anglesey Green.

B6 GT3s on the runway and going deaf with a smile

The closer we got to the centre, the louder it became. The B6 GT3 and M3 E30 Group A tore constantly along the old runway. A soundtrack of pure mechanical soul, the opposite of the world we are moving towards.

You could even enter a competition to win a hot lap.

On top of that:

• Racing simulators

• Live talks with the Bovensiepen family

• Beer and bratwurst (what else in Bavaria?)

• A giant ALPINA wine tasting

• And above all: an unprecedented exhibition of one-off ALPINAs.

The BMW i8 Concept Car Tiger, the ALPINA Cooper S. Cars we knew existed, but had never seen in public before. For many: a mythical experience.

Belgians abroad: always good company

After a typical Bavarian lunch we wandered among the cars again. We ran into more Belgian friends, but also the Sales Advisors from BMW Pautric, who had come to Penzing in an unforgettable B3 GT Touring in Belladonna Purple. What a machine. What a colour. What a presence.

As we walked around we came across the strangest ALPINAs, including obscure models from before 2005, cars from the era when ALPINA bored out its own engines and built unique configurations in extremely low numbers.

A B6 3.5S (62 produced). A B12 5.7 based on the BMW 850 CSi Coupé (E31). Legends you only know if you have ever dived too deep into ALPINA forums.

My own D3? Just 264 units. ALPINA remains exclusive, even today.

The pilgrimage to Buchloe

Before we drove back, one more thing had to happen: a photo of my D3 in front of the ALPINA factory in Buchloe.

As the first owner, eight years on, 160,000 kilometres further, finally returning to the birthplace of your car... that moment is hard to describe. The circle was complete.

And then: back home via the Autobahn, at the pace ALPINAs are built for. From A to B, faster than is healthy, but always with comfort and elegance.

The future of ALPINA: the end of an era, the start of a new chapter

What we know today:

• Classic ALPINA production is ending.

• ALPINA Automobiles becomes ALPINA Classic, responsible for parts, maintenance and restoration.

• BMW will use the ALPINA name for a luxury position between the 7 and 8 Series and Rolls-Royce, probably as a counterpart to Maybach.

• That means: no more 3 or 5 Series ALPINAs.

What we do not know:

• What the new ALPINA badges will look like

• How much of the Buchloe soul will remain

What I do know: My ALPINA D3 Touring stays with me forever. Because some cars you do not buy. Some cars happen to you in life. You can watch the full vlog here: ALPINA 60 Years Event Vlog