Alpina Burkard Bovensiepen can trace its roots back to 1962, and in the same decade, it first came up with its now-famous 20-spoke design, born from the desire to have something both striking and as ideal for distributing forces as the optimal five-spoke setup. Over the last six decades, the company has reinterpreted the basic formula over and over again, and in 2026, as BMW officially takes over control of the brand, more change is coming. A post recently shared on the BMW Alpina Instagram page teases a new Alpina wheel, still with 20 spokes, but now with a diamond-cut finish for the faces and gloss black paint between each spoke, along with a convex, not concave, slant for the outer edges of said spokes.
BMW Will Make Ripples at Alpina, Not Waves
From this image and the accompanying caption, it's clear that BMW intends to retain at least some of Alpina's signature design cues, but it also wants to leave a mark and help evolve the brand. The caption reads as follows: "A hallmark design from our heritage. The 20-spoke wheel continues its journey, symbolizing our commitment to the legacy we protect."
As touched on above, we've seen numerous variations of the 20-spoke wheel, and even a gold Oro Tecnico finish, but never before has a duo-tone wheel found a home on an Alpina product. This implies that BMW wants us to view Alpina in broadly the same light, but also as an entity with fresh blood. The most pertinent question now is, is this post teasing only new accessories or a new vehicle? The latter would make the most sense to make the most of the brand's fresh start.
What BMW Alpina Could Be Up To
Alpina
Reports have indicated that BMW Alpina's first product under Munich's control will be a new 7 Series-based B7 with a V8 under the hood, and BMW recently trademarked the name XB8, potentially hinting at a reimagining of the XM, or heralding a new luxury nameplate above the X7. Alpina's naming rights being owned by the corporate giant that is the BMW Group gives the brand new vigor — vigor that could sustain a push further upmarket, potentially with Alpina turning into a direct rival to Mercedes-Maybach. Indeed, speculation that the Alpina name could someday be applied to ultra-luxury limited editions like the BMW Skytop has been rife. Whatever the case, the newly formed BMW Alpina is not wasting time applying its touch to the automotive landscape, and this teaser means developments will be brought to light imminently.
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