Maybe that’s their inspiration for the new B7? Amish wagons?

According to this (http://www.worldcarfans.com/9080424.009/alpina-returns-to-racing-with-b6-gt3), Alpina is going to be running in the FIA GT3 Euro Championships.

A friend of mine’s little brother is working to get into a few series likes ALMS or the Rolex Series, etc. The amount of money it’s costing their family to get him to a position where he can even be competitive is mind-boggling.

I read a while back that to get a driver from birth to Formula One costs something like 100 million plus for all the training, equipment they’ll need, licenses, management, etc. it’s nuts. If you look at most of the Formula One guys – most come from very wealthy backgrounds. Niki Lauda bought his way into a March F1 to jump start his career but then Hamilton and Raikonnen came from more normal backgrounds.

ANYWAY – my guess is that Alpina won’t be very competitive as they’ve not fielded a car in a series in over 2 decades. What series are they running in? I’m curious to see the direction that Alpina will take now that Andy Bovenspien is taking over the company his father started.

Count me in. I’ll bring the paint markers (so we can paint the stitching on the seats our own special color… maybe pea green?).

Alpina is at least fielding a race car, or at least they’re supposed to. Supercharged 4.4L 6 series making a little over 500hp.

Racing is INCREDIBLY expensive. Spec Miata, which was started so Joe Public could afford to race in a competitive series. Even Spec Miata has become too expensive for everyone but large businesses and independently wealthy individuals.

Some companies (such as Turner Motorsports) can afford to race; most can’t. The best most can hope for is to get on as a sponsor for an individual’s race car. Problem there is that the shops don’t benefit from testing and the progression of knowledge that comes with fielding a race team so they don’t gain any marketable skills from the endeavor.

Exactly. Hell, give me ten minutes, a pack of Crayolas and some straight pipes and I’ll have my own “tuning” shop. I used to think differently of Alpina as they campaigned, successfully, some 3.0 CSLs back in the 1970s and I think a few touring cars in the 1980’s. If I buy a pedigree brand, I want just that, pedigree behind the name. Alipna just doesn’t seem to be fulfilling that niche anymore – nor does any other tuner. My guess is racing it too expensive a proposition by any smaller, independent shop.

Exactly. Hell, give me ten minutes, a pack of Crayolas and some straight pipes and I’ll have my own “tuning” shop. I used to think differently of Alpina as they campaigned, successfully, some 3.0 CSLs back in the 1970s and I think a few touring cars in the 1980’s. If I buy a pedigree brand, I want just that, pedigree behind the name.

It’s a pretty lame formula. Too flashy and not enough grunt to back it up, IMO. Look at all the M3 “tuned” versions out there right now; most of them have ~5% increase in power. Woo. Hoo. Suspension and brakes seem to be OEM on most of them. No changes to the drivetrain. Just some tarting up and a nifty logo on the back.

Alpina has an impressive history, especially in motorsport, but man, does anyone else get the feeling they’ve declined in their potential in the last few years?