This stunning piece of automotive art is the Vision BMW Alpina, revealed today in Italy at the 2026 Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este. While many will hope it previews a new model from Alpina, BMW is instead suggesting that it might be setting out the design manifesto for the brand, ahead of its first new model launching in 2027.
Remind us who or what Alpina is...
The firm was created by one Burkard Bovensiepen in Bavaria back in 1965, offering its clients high-performance tuning. It evolved to be a BMW specialist, creating derivatives of BMW models that focused on blending comfort and performance, with a little more of the former than BMW M cars ever had.
Alpina has been closely integrated with BMW for decades since and, on 1 January this year, BMW took full ownership of the Alpina brand.
It has since announced its intention to create a range of unique cars that sits between BMW and Rolls-Royce. The first is, according to BMW Alpina, "inspired by the BMW 7 Series.”
Will it look as good as the Vision BMW Alpina?
That is the million-dollar question. Your favourite AI agent could quickly graft the stunning, shark-nosed front and the smooth rear end of the concept car onto the stance and proportions of the BMW 7 Series in seconds, creating a dramatic looking luxury car in the process.
The show car is festooned with lovely details, and we admit to being taken in by the design team's whole "Second Read” principle, in which there's more to see when you look again.
For example, Alpinas of the past used 'deco-line' stickers down the sides and elsewhere, but here the same detail is painted on under the clear coat layer, subtly.
There's more of that on the inner surfaces of the extravagant new take on BMW's traditional kidney grilles, visible only when the backlighting is illuminated.
Actual clear-cut crystals are found in the front lights and the "ALPINA” lettering below is a machined, polished metal element.
Alpina's characteristic 20-spoke alloy wheel design has been gently modernised, and the Vision BMW Alpina features 22-inch rims at the front and 23-inch wheels on the back, hinting at this car's performance.
Though the overall shape and detailing is certainly reminiscent of BMW's own design language, it's also something new, especially at the rear, where there are two horizontal lines of LED lighting, a big "ALPINA” wordmark and four oval exhaust outlets.
So this Alpina isn't an EV?
Correct. The show car ostensibly has a V8 engine, though BMW Alpina hasn't divulged any details other than to say it is "tuned to produce the characteristic notes of the Alpina exhaust: rich and deep at low speed, sonorous at high revs."
What about the interior?
It's a four-seat coupe with a lavishly trimmed cabin. There's BMW Alpina branding everywhere and some unique crystal switchgear, but the concept clearly uses BMW's latest technology stack, including the impressive 'Panoramic Vision' display concept.
The show car also features BMW's driver-oriented touchscreen, plus the passenger-side screen fitted to the new BMW 7 Series.
All of this points to how a 7 Series-inspired BMW Alpina of 2027 could look.