During the luxurious launch of the Vision BMW Alpina this past weekend at Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este on the shores of Lake Como, Italy, we had the chance to sit down with BMW Group head of design, Adrian van Hooydonk, along with BMW Alpina head of design, Maximilian Missoni, to learn all about the shark-nosed concept and what’s to come for the iconic, now in-house sport/luxury brand.
The concept itself was built upon a BMW 8 Series coupe platform with a V-8 under its hood, presumably a version of BMW’s stout 4.4-liter twin-turbo V-8 that was available across the 8 Series range. (BMW ended production of the 8 Series in April of 2026 and so far, no successor has been named.) As for the coming BMW Alpina production models, Van Hooydonk did confirm that V-8 engines would power them at the outset.
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When asked whether BMW Alpina would ever produce an all-electric powered vehicle, Missoni took the corporate line that, like the parent company, BMW Alpina will explore a philosophy of “technological openness” when it comes to hybridization and electrification. Both designers also said some of the Alpina character would be implemented via software tuning.
BMW Group head of design, Adrian van Hooydonk, introducing the Vision BMW Alpina concept at the 2026 Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este.
Top Speed: A Quiet 186 mph
Whereas M stands for motorsports in BMW’s universe, Alpina has always emphasized high-speed cruising and understated performance, versus raw power and extreme handling limits. Van Hooydonk confirmed that speed remains a focus for the BMW Alpina brand, and its coming production vehicles will target top speeds of 186 mph (300 kph).
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This may not sound particularly fast these days, but the aim is to achieve those types of speeds effortlessly, as befitting a gentleman’s express. “BMW Alpina is for connoisseurs who love driving fast. But they don’t want to communicate that they bought a race car. That would be for an M car,” said Van Hooydonk.
Van Hooydonk and Missoni are designing production BMW Alpina vehicles that can cheat the wind at up to 186 mph.
Key Design Cues
Note the amber DRLs, prominent shark nose, and Alpina word mark on the front air dam.
Expect future BMW Alpina production cars to retain the signature Alpina design cues developed since its founding in 1965. These include the Alpina word mark, as seen on the front air dam and rear of the concept, signature blue and green colors inside, amber daytime running lights, and oval exhaust tips. There will be some potentially controversial design changes going forward, including: