When you line up the number of tuning firms who specialize on BMWs, you’ll inevitably come across Alpina, which technically started as an aftermarket company before turning into a manufacturer of its own after years of close ties with BMW. In fact,Alpina and BMW have become partners of sorts since most of the former’s models are integrated into the latter’s production lines, including the Alpina B7, which rolls from the same facility as the BMW 7 Series. That’s how far this relationship has come, and the German Ministry of Transport even recognizes it as such, designating Alpina as an automaker instead of an aftermarket specialist.

History lesson aside, Alpina is headed to the 2017 Geneva Motor Show with a number of its latest creations, one of which is the B4 S Biturbo, an interpretation of the 4 Series according to the specifications of Alpina. Like most models to come out of Alpina, the B4 S Biturbo is technically a 4 Series, and the process by which Alpina uses to create the car isn’t too different from what expert BMW tuners like AC Schnitzer do. So while it is technically an automaker, Alpina’s methods are still closer to AC Schnitzer than it is to BMW, hence the approach we’ve taken here.
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