Bovensiepen Zagato is a 603bhp BMW M4 with Italian flair

Meet the all-new Bovensiepen Zagato, created by a small firm based in Buchloe, Bavaria, Germany. It is a formidable 603bhp two-door GT – and, yes, that name deserves some explanation.

Bovensiepen Zagato: Alpina’s founding family returns

“The name Bovensiepen is no stranger in the automotive industry,” the company said, “and now it stands for a manufacturer of exceptional automobiles that embody the concept of ‘fine driving’.”

Alpina’s founding family, the Bovensiepens, have launched their own business after selling the much-loved Alpina name to BMW in 2022. Their first creation? A… BMW.

This is far from a standard BMW, though. Bovensiepen commissioned Zagato to rework the BMW M4 into something genuinely distinctive, with an all-carbon-fibre body. The aim is also to restore some of the automobile’s old-fashioned appeal.

“As two family businesses, we still view the automobile through romantic eyes,” said Andrea Zagato. “Today, many vehicles are highly standardised, and their romance is being lost.”

To revive that sense of romance, Zagato’s chief designer Norihiko Harada introduced “a kind of mixture of Italian flair, a kind of sexy and soft design, and a German, very solid, almost architectural structure”.

Zagato reshapes the BMW M4

The most immediately noticeable change is Zagato’s determined removal of the M4’s kidney grille. In its place sits one clean, streamlined intake, joined by a pair of enormous side-intake cheeks. It also receives fresh headlights, a U-shaped bonnet vent, plus the essential Zagato double-bubble roof and rear screen.

At the back, the design is much squarer than that of its BMW relative. A more sharply cut lower section replaces the previous diffuser area, accompanied by new rear lights, fins on both sides and a graceful ducktail spoiler. The four exhaust outlets remain, of course.

Those tailpipes sit at the end of a new lightweight Akrapovic exhaust, which removes 40 per cent of the standard M4 exhaust’s weight and reportedly lowers back pressure “significantly”. Combined with several unspecified changes, it raises the BMW’s 3.0-litre turbocharged straight-six from 523bhp to 603bhp and 516lb ft.

603bhp, Bilstein dampers and a bespoke cabin

That extra performance trims just two tenths from the M4’s 0-62mph time, bringing it down to 3.3s, while top speed rises to more than 186mph. Bovensiepen has also installed Bilstein dampers with three drive settings – comfort, sport and sport plus – and fitted 20in forged wheels.

Neither Bovensiepen nor Zagato seems to have altered the M4’s cabin layout, although it has been covered generously in leather, aluminium and blue. Naturally, every example can be personalised extensively, and each one requires more than 250 hours to finish.

Pricing for this lavish machine remains unconfirmed, as does the number that will be produced. What is clear is that it marks the beginning of a new chapter for Andreas and Florian Bovensiepen.

“In the future, Bovensiepen will realize exciting automotive projects that combine precision and harmony in the form of timeless design and outstanding engineering,” said the small Buchloe-based company.

And Alpina? Former Polestar man and new BMW designer Max Missoni is responsible for shaping the cult tuner’s next identity. "I’m really confident that this will be an exciting journey with Alpina," Missoni told TopGear.com.

"When we dove into the brand and all its peculiarities, there were so many wonderfully whimsical things to discover, beyond the technology and performance side but also on the design and storytelling side. There are many new brands that struggle to be seen and heard because they have no history or relevance. Alpina might be small but it still creates an emotional connection."