If you thought BMW’s recent design language was challenging, wait until you see what they’ve done to Alpina. Following the full corporate takeover of the legendary tuning house, the Bavarians have dragged the Vision BMW Alpina concept out into the daylight at the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este.
It is massive. It is unapologetically opulent, and it features a front fascia that requires some serious visual adjustment. The defining element of this 5.2-metre-long coupe is the brutal ‘shark nose’. BMW has reinterpreted the classic kidney grille as a protruding, three-dimensional illuminated sculpture that leans aggressively forward.
Flanked by super-slim LED running lights, it looks less like a traditional grand tourer and more like a sci-fi battering ram. It is undeniably weird, but the sheer, menacing street presence of the thing goes straight to the head. The profile is anchored by a sharp six-degree “speed feature line” and massive 20-spoke alloy wheels; 22 inches up front and 23 inches at the rear.
But the real headline hides underneath that polarising sheet metal. Sidestepping the heavy plug-in hybrid architectures currently filtering through the M division, BMW has blessed the Vision Alpina with a pure, unadulterated V8 engine. No electric torque-fill, no silent EV mode, just a full-fat, twin-turbo V8 powerhouse exhaling through signature quad tailpipes. In an era where legacy brands are desperately downsizing, seeing a flagship luxury coupe commit to heavy-duty internal combustion is exactly the kind of hardware driving enthusiasts demand.
Inside, it is pure, unabashed wealth… and digital screens. The cabin features regional Alpine leather, watchmaking-inspired bevelled metals, and yacht-style magnetic crystal glasses in the rear centre console.
While the Vision coupe remains a design study based loosely on the discontinued 8 Series platform, it serves as the official manifesto for the newly integrated brand. BMW has confirmed the first actual production model will be an Alpina-badged 7 Series arriving in 2027, designed to plug the pricing gap between the standard 7er and the entry-level Rolls-Royce Ghost. Let’s just hope they keep the V8 intact when it hits showrooms.
