Alpina: this is the story of its iconic 20-spoke wheels

The styling of a car is often defined by its wheels, and in this respect Alpina has earned the admiration of the public. Today, we are going to tell the story of Alpina’s iconic 20-spoke wheels. These wheels have become a coveted object of desire for passionate drivers of BMW.

How were they conceived? Why have they become world famous? Some people, just by seeing these famous wheels, know that it is a model from Alpina.

Alpina’s goal was to create a design that would make it easily recognisable on the street. This quest began in the 1960s. These light-alloy wheels captivated the German market and came to rival the famous Fuchs wheels of 1966 launched by Porsche.

It was not the first time Alpina had fitted light-alloy wheels, as BMW already used them on the famous E9, better known as the Batmobile, but also on the 2800 CS Coupé.

Wheels that would go down in history

Alpina’s twenty-spoke wheels became a real success thanks to their outstanding and visionary design. Moreover, after intensive research, the engineers concluded that the most efficient wheels meeting the goal of lightness were those with many spokes.

Besides having multiple spokes, it was essential that the force be distributed evenly across five main spokes. In this way, the force would travel from the outer rim to the centre of the wheel. Initially, the models of BMW were fitted with four-bolt hubs, which made it difficult to position five spokes, but Burkhard Bovensiepen hit the nail on the head and applied the five-spoke principle to the four-nut architecture by grouping them into a total of 20. Five main spokes across four hubs, 20 spokes.

The fame of Alpina’s 20-spoke wheels began in 1970. To strengthen the core, the tuner had the magnesium-alloy wheels sand-cast, and “a small amount of sand was removed from the mould between every second spoke, thus creating a build-up of material or connection between two spokes. This build-up of material guaranteed the rigidity needed for the wheel to withstand even the highest braking forces that would otherwise have destroyed it”.

Which was the first model to fit these new wheels? The BMW Alpina 3.0 CSL of 1971. From that moment on, each of the models fitted them until they became a distinctive feature.

That typical spoke arrangement remains current today, especially on lighter models. What is the most recent model? The Alpina B3 of the 3 Series G20 / G21 generation. In short, Alpina’s 20-spoke wheels have revolutionised some of the most iconic models of the Bavarian marque and, for some, they have become the perfect proof that “classic designs never go out of style”.