A forbidden pleasure, this is what the Alpina Coupe S would be. After all, with Alpina dialing up the performance and especially the luxury on BMWs for nearly six decades now, the line between the German specialist’s operations and the company working its magic on an Mk V Toyota Supra is quite thin.
While BMW having recently brought Alpina under its own roof (we’ll get to that shortly), the said border just got even blurrier. And while we don’t expect the Germans to completely take over the A90 Supra anytime soon, digital artist Abimelec Arellano (aka abimelecdesign) has done just that in his latest rendering.
The Alpina Coupe S, which would probably be dubbed Alpina B90 when using the German specialist’s nomenclature, follows the traditional recipe. On a visual level, the only one we can enjoy here, the sports car’s journey into Grand Tourer territory involves add-on aero for the front apron, side skirts and rear bumper sides, together with specific wheels, which come in a generous size. Alpina’s trademark blue covers the JDM styling cues, with the company’s golden graphics also present.
Now, if this was a real-world treatment, the BMW B58 turbocharged 3.0L straight-six would receive more power, the ZF eight-speed auto or the 2023 BMW six-speed manual, would be tweaked, while the suspension could also be upgraded. And the final touch should come from an overall setup of the vehicle focused on covering ground quickly in complete comfort rather than all-out speed.
BMW has brought Alpina under its roof
BMW and Alpina have reached an agreement that sees the latter’s cars, which have their own VINs, being sold via BMW dealerships. However, as part of the said acquisition deal, which completes in 2025, BMW will own all the rights to Alpina, albeit without having any shares in the company.
The transition seems similar to what happened back in 1999 when Mercedes brought AMG under its own roof, with the latter technically being an independent company at that point (not anymore, though).
However, BMW incorporating Alpina does raise an important question: how will Alpina and BMW M models be differentiated? In the past, the former’s luxury focus and the latter’s full-dynamic bias has prevented cannibalization.
However, BMW M’s new CEO Frank Van Meel, who had led BMW’s luxury operations for the past three and a hald years, has made no secret out of the fact that he strives for the preservation of the M identity in the electrification era, while also aiming to take the company into the lavish side of the market.
And BMW’s XM, a V8 hybrid SUV coming to the market in 2023, clearly indicates the switch towards a more luxury-oriented philosophy. BMW M could obviously benefit from Alpina’s experience in the fiel in the short term, but the role of the latter remains somewhat unclear in the long run.
Mixed emotions?
With the Supra now in its fourth year of production—Magna Steyr builds it in Austria together with the Gen II BMW Z4—opinions on the Toyota continue to be split. There are aficioandos who enjoy the capable Japanese sports car in these crossover- and electrification-dominated times. And then we have those who point their finger at the BMW platform and powertrains, while also talking about the production A90 Supra looking less spectacular than the FT-1 concept that previewed it.
And while an Alpina Supra would probably amplify the polarizing nature of the coupe, we have to admit it looks and sounds like a pleasant machine.
