Alpina & Brabus – more alike than it seems!

      
They have rarely been directly compared as companies, nor have their cars been pitted against each other very often.
Like Smart (Wikipedia) and Mini (Wikipedia), one similaity can be found in the relation of both Brabus (Wikipedia) and Alpina (Wikipedia) to Mercedes (Wikipedia) and BMW (Wikipedia) respectively. They are independant and in eternal coopetion with AMG (Wikipedia), Mercs housetuner, and BMW M GmbH (Wikipedia), the maker of the famous M-Series.

Brabus is maybe “just another tuner”, but it is the most famous one with a great brand recognition. And, on special projects, it is not AMG but Brabus being Mercs premium brand – think of Smart.

Alpina sells cars through the BMW network including warranty. The cars are manufactured under the name of Alpina, unlike all other BMW specialists, who “just” modify cars.

• Both are quite old compared to other car specialists, Alpina is 42 (1965) and Brabus just turned 30 (1977).
• Both are very distinctive and exclusive, more so then AMG or M-Series.
• Both emphasize torque, whereas M and AMG play the sporty high revving game.
• Both have a more subtle body style for their cars compared to the loud AMG and M-Series.
• Both have recognisable characteristics and styles: both have special wheel styles, both have their favourite colours, Alpina has got the elegant blue and green with light cream interior, whereas a typical Brabus is black.
• Both enhance and improve the basic car characters of BMW and Mercedes. Brabus is the classy brute, powerful and impressive, yet representative and relatively understated. Alpina has got finesse and elegance. Alpinas have got relaxing power delivery compared to the hyper-nervous Ms. Alpina is proud of sophisticated engineering, often shining with lower fuel consumption then lesser powered factory Bimmers.

Some prefer the AMGs and Ms of this world, I am more the Brabus and Alpina guy. I particularly like the Brabus C- and CL-Versions with big engines and the Alpina B3, B5 and B7. I usually have a penchant for estates and if a convertible is on the wish list, there will be no competition between the B3 and the future M3 Cabrio. Convertibles are about enjoying and savouring the ride, not chasing and racing.

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Tags: BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Brabus, Alpina, BMW Alpina, B3, B7, B5, Cars

Mini and Smart have a lot in common…

 

Both are individual brands belonging to the two arch-rivals of the German car industry: Mercedes and BMW.  Both are aimed at the premium segment of the small car market.  Both brand (re-)launches were hedged bets to avoid tainting the main brands in case things went wrong.  Both were (desperate) attempts to gain younger customers (they did succeed) and both are sexy, cute, cool and  fun.  Both offer a wide variety of accessories, options and body kits.  Both like unusual spicy names for the equipment packages:  chilli, pepper, lemon, pulse.  Both have their desirable top versions linked to famous specialists, Cooper and Brabus (something for the competitive and techy part of the brain). Both play with combinations of colours, in fact they are an integral part of the branding (something for the shopping instincts).

I like both brands.

And I like both in white with either black or silver body kits… blackish alloys  those of the Mini Sidewalk trim are really cute, the classic Brabus wheels are great too)… brownish or terracotta-red leather…  and of course nearly every option on the list, usually the most expensive one is the one to have…

If you insist on sending me samples, please don’t forget to include the most powerful engines, please.  Any body choice will do, convertible, coupe or clubman.  Thank you.

Yes!

If the driving the new XF is on par with the looks, Jaguar has got a winner.  The design is clean and fresh.  There is simply no comparison to the previous drab old boring retro-look, which was neither classy nor chic. The XF has a bit of that clean modern look of Lexus (IS and GS, which is a good thing) without looking like a copycat (no pun intended).  Congrats.
Note: this is a good relaunch of the brand which Ford is able to use as a bargain in the sales negociations…