Laidback
12-07-2011, 01:31 AM
Mfest.com
Text By Stephen Daubert (U.S.A)
Photos By Mike Crawat (Belgium)
Alpina Passion
http://i1090.photobucket.com/albums/i364/malloybmw1/DSC_0168.jpg
[LEFT]Over the years, Patrick of Belgium, has become drained from being consistently precise. His passions lead him to a field that is rigid and defined, but finally Patrick has unleashed his wild side. What captured Patrick’s wild side was the very exclusive and fast, Alpina B3S Bi-turbo. Launched in the early 1960’s Burkard Bovensiepen acquired a BMW 1500 and created the very first Alpina tuned BMW. Since then, Alpina has been one of the most sought after tuning companies for BMW enthusiasts.
http://i1090.photobucket.com/albums/i364/malloybmw1/DSC_0095.jpg
http://i1090.photobucket.com/albums/i364/malloybmw1/DSC_0162.jpg
Dedicating his life to studying and sports, Patrick did not have much time for cars. Graduating from technical school and then pursuing a degree in drafting, Patrick focused his younger years on establishing himself with hard work and determination. Wanting to know why Patrick never deviated from his plan, I inquired, “Why did you choose your occupation?” Patrick responded with, “As a child, I was always very precise in everything I did. I also liked to draw so that’s why I chose my occupation.” This need to be practical and live within your means started early for Patrick and can be seen in his car history and the reasons behind why he choose each vehicle.
http://i1090.photobucket.com/albums/i364/malloybmw1/DSC_0197.jpg
http://i1090.photobucket.com/albums/i364/malloybmw1/DSC_0190.jpg
http://i1090.photobucket.com/albums/i364/malloybmw1/DSC_01811.jpg
Starting out with a Citroën GS then moving to a BMW 325i diesel, a BMW 525tds and finally a BMW 525d you can see how diesels ran his life. Patrick describes the reasons behind being sensible when I asked, “Why did you choose your car?” He responded, “I always bought Diesel powered cars, because we drove a lot on a yearly basis. Now things have changed and we don’t drive that many kilometers a year, and I grew tired of the sound and lack of excitement of these cars, so my big dream was to buy a performance petrol car. My car at that moment was a BMW 335d coupé (E92), which I really liked.” Understanding his reasons for being practical with his cars, I was interested to find out what major factors influenced his decision to buy an Alpina, “You stated before that a diesel car lacked something that only a petrol car could give you, could you expand please?” Taking his time, Patrick responded, “I really like the torque a diesel engine offers and I like the sound sensation a petrol engine offers. My Alpina offers both of the two worlds: a good amount of torque, so if I want I can drive it “lazy” and don’t do too much downshifts, and a fantastic petrol sound, something a diesel can never offer. Going to 7000 revs feels magical. Why, because of the sound. The only downside of the petrol engine is less fuel efficiency and the fact that petrol costs more than diesel, but that’s something I gladly ignore because I love my petrol car so much!”
http://i1090.photobucket.com/albums/i364/malloybmw1/DSC_0105.jpg
http://i1090.photobucket.com/albums/i364/malloybmw1/DSC_0013.jpg
http://i1090.photobucket.com/albums/i364/malloybmw1/DSC_0021.jpg
Recognizing some of the reasons why Patrick chose the Alpina, I still wanted to find out more, “Was the exclusive factor of an Alpina a major decision point between that and a ///M3?” He replied, “It was a major decision point yes, in addition to the fact that the Alpina drives smoother and more comfortable than the M3, even though it delivers the same performance in real life situations.” This passion of his has been lingering around since his youth but has always been trumped by his sensible side. This passion for BMWs had to start from somewhere so I continued with, “This one family member seems to have lots of influence car wise, do you think it was mostly him that sold you on BMWs or was it the car?” Patrick responded quickly, “It was definitely the car. At that time, I thought a BMW was too expensive for me, and I thought I’d better buy a cheaper car, but he insisted on testing his car, and after a small test drive, I immediately knew, this is the car I want, no matter how much it costs, I will find a way to afford it haha!”
http://i1090.photobucket.com/albums/i364/malloybmw1/DSC_0031.jpg
http://i1090.photobucket.com/albums/i364/malloybmw1/DSC_0213.jpg
Ending the interview I asked Patrick on final question, and his answered summed up our conversation well, “BMW chooses “Joy” to describe their brand experience. In one word, how would you describe Alpina?” Taking his time Patrick responses “I think connoisseur is the best term. A good example of that would be, people graduate in life. They graduate in their experiences, initially they might want more of something, then they want higher quality and then they want something bespoke, unique, exclusive, and different. You grow though those levels and Alpina finds themselves with their BMW automobiles in that third category.”
http://i1090.photobucket.com/albums/i364/malloybmw1/DSC_0218.jpg
After seeing his responses, the advice Patrick could give to all of us craving more was, hard work, determination and living within your means truly pays off. Patrick’s dream of owning a high-performance BMW materialized from his hard work. The allure and exclusivity created by Alpina satisfied his needs and the Alpina B3S was finally his.
http://i1090.photobucket.com/albums/i364/malloybmw1/DSC_0136.jpg
Text By Stephen Daubert (U.S.A)
Photos By Mike Crawat (Belgium)
Alpina Passion
http://i1090.photobucket.com/albums/i364/malloybmw1/DSC_0168.jpg
[LEFT]Over the years, Patrick of Belgium, has become drained from being consistently precise. His passions lead him to a field that is rigid and defined, but finally Patrick has unleashed his wild side. What captured Patrick’s wild side was the very exclusive and fast, Alpina B3S Bi-turbo. Launched in the early 1960’s Burkard Bovensiepen acquired a BMW 1500 and created the very first Alpina tuned BMW. Since then, Alpina has been one of the most sought after tuning companies for BMW enthusiasts.
http://i1090.photobucket.com/albums/i364/malloybmw1/DSC_0095.jpg
http://i1090.photobucket.com/albums/i364/malloybmw1/DSC_0162.jpg
Dedicating his life to studying and sports, Patrick did not have much time for cars. Graduating from technical school and then pursuing a degree in drafting, Patrick focused his younger years on establishing himself with hard work and determination. Wanting to know why Patrick never deviated from his plan, I inquired, “Why did you choose your occupation?” Patrick responded with, “As a child, I was always very precise in everything I did. I also liked to draw so that’s why I chose my occupation.” This need to be practical and live within your means started early for Patrick and can be seen in his car history and the reasons behind why he choose each vehicle.
http://i1090.photobucket.com/albums/i364/malloybmw1/DSC_0197.jpg
http://i1090.photobucket.com/albums/i364/malloybmw1/DSC_0190.jpg
http://i1090.photobucket.com/albums/i364/malloybmw1/DSC_01811.jpg
Starting out with a Citroën GS then moving to a BMW 325i diesel, a BMW 525tds and finally a BMW 525d you can see how diesels ran his life. Patrick describes the reasons behind being sensible when I asked, “Why did you choose your car?” He responded, “I always bought Diesel powered cars, because we drove a lot on a yearly basis. Now things have changed and we don’t drive that many kilometers a year, and I grew tired of the sound and lack of excitement of these cars, so my big dream was to buy a performance petrol car. My car at that moment was a BMW 335d coupé (E92), which I really liked.” Understanding his reasons for being practical with his cars, I was interested to find out what major factors influenced his decision to buy an Alpina, “You stated before that a diesel car lacked something that only a petrol car could give you, could you expand please?” Taking his time, Patrick responded, “I really like the torque a diesel engine offers and I like the sound sensation a petrol engine offers. My Alpina offers both of the two worlds: a good amount of torque, so if I want I can drive it “lazy” and don’t do too much downshifts, and a fantastic petrol sound, something a diesel can never offer. Going to 7000 revs feels magical. Why, because of the sound. The only downside of the petrol engine is less fuel efficiency and the fact that petrol costs more than diesel, but that’s something I gladly ignore because I love my petrol car so much!”
http://i1090.photobucket.com/albums/i364/malloybmw1/DSC_0105.jpg
http://i1090.photobucket.com/albums/i364/malloybmw1/DSC_0013.jpg
http://i1090.photobucket.com/albums/i364/malloybmw1/DSC_0021.jpg
Recognizing some of the reasons why Patrick chose the Alpina, I still wanted to find out more, “Was the exclusive factor of an Alpina a major decision point between that and a ///M3?” He replied, “It was a major decision point yes, in addition to the fact that the Alpina drives smoother and more comfortable than the M3, even though it delivers the same performance in real life situations.” This passion of his has been lingering around since his youth but has always been trumped by his sensible side. This passion for BMWs had to start from somewhere so I continued with, “This one family member seems to have lots of influence car wise, do you think it was mostly him that sold you on BMWs or was it the car?” Patrick responded quickly, “It was definitely the car. At that time, I thought a BMW was too expensive for me, and I thought I’d better buy a cheaper car, but he insisted on testing his car, and after a small test drive, I immediately knew, this is the car I want, no matter how much it costs, I will find a way to afford it haha!”
http://i1090.photobucket.com/albums/i364/malloybmw1/DSC_0031.jpg
http://i1090.photobucket.com/albums/i364/malloybmw1/DSC_0213.jpg
Ending the interview I asked Patrick on final question, and his answered summed up our conversation well, “BMW chooses “Joy” to describe their brand experience. In one word, how would you describe Alpina?” Taking his time Patrick responses “I think connoisseur is the best term. A good example of that would be, people graduate in life. They graduate in their experiences, initially they might want more of something, then they want higher quality and then they want something bespoke, unique, exclusive, and different. You grow though those levels and Alpina finds themselves with their BMW automobiles in that third category.”
http://i1090.photobucket.com/albums/i364/malloybmw1/DSC_0218.jpg
After seeing his responses, the advice Patrick could give to all of us craving more was, hard work, determination and living within your means truly pays off. Patrick’s dream of owning a high-performance BMW materialized from his hard work. The allure and exclusivity created by Alpina satisfied his needs and the Alpina B3S was finally his.
http://i1090.photobucket.com/albums/i364/malloybmw1/DSC_0136.jpg