News

BMW Takes the Wheel at Alpina—And Promises Speed with a Silk-Lined Ride

For six decades, Alpina has lived in a sweet spot that BMW’s own M division never quite occupied. While M chased lap times and Nürburgring bragging rights, Alpina quietly perfected the art of going very fast without rattling your fillings loose. Now, that philosophy is officially back under BMW’s direct control—and Munich is making it clear that Alpina’s mission won’t be diluted into just another performance sub-brand.

BMW has completed its long-planned takeover of the Buchloe-based firm and relaunched it as BMW Alpina, an “exclusive standalone brand” within the BMW Group, sitting alongside BMW, Mini, and Rolls-Royce. If that sounds like corporate reshuffling, the intent is more meaningful than the press-release phrasing suggests: Alpina is no longer a semi-independent tuner with factory blessing. It’s now fully baked into BMW’s long-term strategy.

The acquisition itself isn’t new—BMW bought Alpina back in 2022—but an agreement with the founding Bovensiepen family allowed the company to operate independently until the end of 2025. That window has now closed, marking the end of Alpina as we knew it. The final independently developed Alpina debuted last year, quietly closing a chapter that included legends like the B7 Bi-Turbo and the diesel-powered torque monster known as the D5.

BMW isn’t ready to talk specifics about upcoming models yet. The early phase is focused on what it calls “brand activation,” which is marketing-speak for setting the stage before the cars arrive. Still, BMW has dropped enough hints to sketch a clear direction—and it’s reassuringly familiar.

According to BMW, future Alpina models will emphasize a “unique balance of maximum performance and superior driving comfort,” paired with “hallmark driving characteristics.” That’s corporate poetry for the Alpina formula enthusiasts already understand: effortless speed, long-legged gearing, suspension tuned for real roads, and interiors that feel more bespoke lounge than track-day cockpit.

Crucially, BMW is keen to draw a bright line between Alpina and BMW M. That distinction has always been Alpina’s lifeblood. Where M cars tend to shout, Alpinas whisper—until you bury the throttle and realize you’re traveling at a speed that would get your license revoked in several countries simultaneously. Expect that duality to remain intact.

The brand will also double down on customization. BMW promises a “remarkable portfolio” of bespoke options, focusing on premium materials and craftsmanship. Translation: Lavalina leather, subtle exterior detailing, and the kind of personalization that appeals to buyers who know exactly why they’re choosing Alpina—and don’t need to explain it to anyone else. BMW says each vehicle will be “an exclusive object for connoisseurs,” which feels like a carefully chosen phrase aimed directly at Alpina’s traditionally understated clientele.

Design-wise, BMW Alpina is already laying groundwork. Former Polestar design chief Max Missoni has been tapped to oversee the brand’s aesthetic direction, a move that suggests modern minimalism rather than retro pastiche. Reinforcing that link between past and future is a newly revealed wordmark, inspired by an asymmetrical logo Alpina experimented with in the 1970s. It’s subtle, heritage-aware, and refreshingly free of nostalgia overload—exactly the tone Alpina has always favored.

What remains unanswered is how far BMW will let Alpina roam technically. Historically, Alpina engines were hand-assembled and heavily reworked, earning their own VINs and manufacturer status in Germany. Whether BMW will preserve that level of mechanical distinction—or shift Alpina closer to ultra-luxury, factory-approved specials—will define the brand’s next era.

For now, BMW’s messaging suggests restraint rather than reinvention. Alpina isn’t being turned into a softer M, nor a harder Rolls-Royce. Instead, BMW appears intent on preserving Alpina as the thinking person’s performance brand—the one you choose not to impress your neighbors, but because you know exactly what makes a great car great.

If BMW sticks to that plan, Alpina’s future could be quieter than an M car’s—and all the faster for it.

Source: BMW

NEW CARS

Mercedes-AMG Refreshes the GLE 53 Ahead of a Critical 2027 Showdown

Mercedes-Benz is in the middle of a creative changing of the guard. Longtime design chief Gorden Wagener—arguably the single most influential stylist the brand has had in the modern era—has announced he’s stepping down after nearly three decades. His fingerprints, however, aren’t coming off the sheetmetal anytime soon. One of the next reminders arrives with the refreshed Mercedes-AMG GLE 53, due in 2026 as a 2027 model-year SUV.

If this feels like déjà vu, that’s because it kind of is. The fourth-generation GLE dates back to 2018, with the AMG 53 performance variant following a year later. It already received a mid-cycle refresh for 2023, but in today’s hyper-competitive luxury-SUV arms race, “recently updated” ages about as well as last year’s smartphone. Mercedes knows it needs to keep pace—not just within its own lineup, but against an oncoming wave of newer, sharper rivals.

So yes, the GLE is getting another facelift. And no, Mercedes isn’t pretending it’s anything more than that.

The most obvious change will be the lighting signature. By the time this refreshed GLE hits the road in fall 2027, Mercedes’ star-shaped daytime running lights will be everywhere. What began as a clever design flourish on the rear of the E-Class has quickly turned into a full-blown brand identifier, now spreading to both ends of facelifted models across the lineup—including AMG variants. Think of it as Stuttgart’s answer to BMW’s angel eyes, only more literal.

Between those new starry DRLs sits a revised grille that’s expected to do what modern luxury grilles do best: get bigger. While camouflage hides the final details for now, the word is that the new opening will be noticeably larger than the current GLE’s and may borrow cues from the recently revealed electric GLC with EQ Technology. If that’s the case, expect a more upright, more assertive face—one that leans harder into presence than subtlety.

Notably, the updated grille will finally wear a proper frame. The current GLE, AMG or otherwise, goes frameless up front, which has always felt a little unfinished in a segment obsessed with visual gravitas. This change alone could significantly alter how substantial the GLE looks in your rearview mirror.

There will be the usual facelift fare as well: revised bumpers, fresh wheel designs, and small detail tweaks meant to distract from the fact that the underlying sheetmetal is unchanged. That’s the nature of a mid-cycle update—especially one layered on top of an earlier refresh. Mercedes isn’t rewriting the GLE’s design story here; it’s just editing for relevance.

Under the hood, don’t expect reinvention either. The AMG GLE 53 will almost certainly carry over its mild-hybrid 3.0-liter turbocharged inline-six. In current form, the setup makes 429 horsepower (435 metric), delivered with the smooth, muscular character AMG has largely perfected in this configuration. That said, history suggests the engineers in Affalterbach won’t be able to resist squeezing out a few extra ponies before the 2026 debut. Whether that comes from revised software, mild hardware tweaks, or a more aggressive hybrid assist remains to be seen—but incremental gains are all but guaranteed.

And incremental might not be enough.

The real pressure isn’t coming from within Mercedes’ own lineup; it’s coming from Munich. BMW’s next-generation X5, internal code G65, is scheduled to launch in 2026 as a 2027 model-year vehicle—the same timing as the refreshed GLE. Unlike Mercedes, BMW is starting fresh. The new X5 will usher in the brand’s Neue Klasse design language, and an M60 performance variant is already in the pipeline.

Translation: newer platform, bolder styling, and a clear performance halo.

Against that backdrop, the GLE’s age becomes harder to hide, no matter how clever the lighting graphics or how large the grille grows. Mercedes will need every visual trick—and every extra horsepower—to keep the AMG GLE 53 from looking like yesterday’s news parked next to BMW’s all-new contender.

Still, there’s something to be said for maturity. The GLE remains a known quantity: comfortable, quick, and unmistakably premium, with AMG’s inline-six offering real-world performance that feels more usable than headline-grabbing specs suggest. This refresh isn’t about stealing the spotlight—it’s about staying in the conversation.

And in a segment where loyalty runs deep and design sells almost as much as performance, that might be enough to carry Mercedes-AMG through the next round of the luxury-SUV heavyweight bout.

Photos: SH Proshots

Sale

This 104-Mile 1987 Chevy Camaro IROC-Z Is a Time Capsule with an Ambitious Price Tag

The Chevrolet Camaro has spent decades perfecting the art of looking fast while standing still, and few eras did it with more attitude than the third generation. Boxy, low-slung, and unapologetically Eighties, the Camaro IROC-Z wasn’t just a trim level—it was a statement. And every so often, a survivor surfaces that reminds us just how sharp these cars could look before time, mileage, and questionable modifications took their toll.

Case in point: this 1987 Camaro IROC-Z, a car that has lived an almost suspiciously sheltered life. Since leaving the showroom, it has reportedly covered just 104 miles. Not 104,000—104. That’s barely enough distance to warm the oil, let alone scuff the bolsters.

Instead of heading to a polished auction platform like Bring a Trailer, where this kind of low-mileage unicorn would feel right at home, the seller has chosen a more old-school route. The car is currently listed on Facebook Marketplace in Bradenton, Florida, quietly waiting for the right buyer with both deep pockets and a strong sense of nostalgia.

According to the listing, the Camaro was originally delivered by Modern Chevrolet in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and has spent its entire existence tucked away in climate-controlled garages. If preservation were a competitive sport, this IROC-Z would be on the podium.

The IROC-Z badge—short for International Race of Champions—was more than just decals and louvers. Chevrolet gave these cars meaningful hardware upgrades, including Delco-Bilstein shocks, stiffer sway bars, improved braking, and a visual treatment that made standard Camaros look positively plain by comparison. In the late 1980s, this was as close as you could get to a factory-handling package without stepping into full-blown racing territory.

Buyers back then had a choice of two small-block V-8s: a 305-cubic-inch (5.0-liter) engine rated at 220 horsepower or a 350-cubic-inch (5.7-liter) version making a modestly higher 230 horses. This particular car gets the bigger engine, paired with a four-speed automatic transmission driving the rear wheels—exactly the configuration you’d expect from a muscle car of this vintage.

Unsurprisingly, the car appears virtually untouched. The deep red paint still shines with the kind of gloss most restored cars struggle to replicate, and the original wheels and tires remain in place. Inside, the gray-and-black interior shows no visible wear, looking more like a museum exhibit than something designed to endure decades of use.

The original factory invoice lists a purchase price of $18,000 back in 1987. Adjusted for inflation, that works out to roughly $52,500 today. The seller, however, is aiming considerably higher, with an asking price of $92,500—territory that puts it above even a brand-new Camaro ZL1 1LE.

That’s a bold number, no question. But then again, cars like this aren’t really about performance, value equations, or rational decision-making. They’re about restraint. About what happens when someone buys a muscle car and—against every instinct—decides not to drive it.

If you’ve ever wondered what 104 miles of ironclad self-control looks like, this IROC-Z is your answer. It’s a Camaro that’s barely stretched its legs since Reagan was in office—and it’s asking you to pay dearly for the privilege of keeping it that way.

Source: Facebook Marketplace

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