BMW will preview the future of Alpina on Friday with the unveiling of a new concept car.

The Vision BMW Alpina will be revealed at the Villa d’Este Concorso d’Eleganza on 15 May, the company has confirmed, marking its first big presentation since the Alpina brand entered BMW ownership in January. 

A teaser image released by BMW Alpina reveals it to be a long coupé – similar in profile to the previous BMW 8 Series and the limited-run Speedtop – and appears to show new lighting signatures that could be reserved specifically for future Alpina models.

This suggests that new models under the sub-brand could be more greatly differentiated from the BMWs on which they are based than in the past, cars such as the 3 Series-based B3 having been comparatively subtle.

It also suggests that Alpina could be preparing its own bespoke cars in what would be a first for the marque: its historic cars were all based on mass-produced BMWs. 

As recently reported by Autocar, the first new-age Alpinas to hit showrooms will be based on the 7 Series limousine and X7 SUV.

BMW Group R&D chief Joachim Post said the brand “will talk not about sport but speed, comfort and luxury”, in keeping with its past.

It will be “completely different from a level which other people like from [BMW’s M cars], which is the performance”.

BMW previously said Alpina would also major on personalisation, offering a broad range of options and focusing on high-quality materials.