This Alpina Volkswagen Beetle Render Is Weird In All The Right Ways

Digital artist Abimelec Design imagines a gussied-up Volkswagen Beetle wearing its shiniest Alpina suit. We dig it.

Photo by: Abimelec Design

By: Jeff Perez

Nov 9, at 3:34pm ET

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Alpina spent decades turning BMWs into luxurious, powerful alternatives to their M-badged counterparts. The B10 Bi-Turbo, the Roadster V8, and so many other excellent vehicles. Now, Alpina is officially part of the BMW Group, which means we won’t see any of those Buchloe-tinged models ever again.

But what if, before officially joining the BMW Group, Alpina had stepped outside its comfort zone and set its sights on something a little less performance-oriented? What if it had gotten its hands on a Volkswagen New Beetle?

As silly as it sounds, Abimelec Design's Alpina-fied Beetle rendering actually looks fantastic. The artist posted the fictional Bug on his Instagram page—he calls it the B1 Turbo—complete with a deep blue paint job, classic Alpina multi-spoke wheels, and iconic pinstriping.

Like most Alpina makeovers, the changes are subtle—but they work. Motor1 reached out to Abimelec via email to learn more about the project.

Alpina B1 Volkswagen Beetle Rendering By Abimelec Design

Photo by: Abimelec Design

Inspired By The Beetle RSI

His idea came from an in-person experience with arguably one of the coolest Beetles of all time: the RSi. He said that a friend who owns one in Mexico City gave him the chance to spend time with the car during a visit last year.

While the widebody styling is what caught his attention first, something else impressed him: the fancier interior. He tells Motor1:

'I remember the main thing that stuck out to me, besides the body width, was how upscale the interior was compared to the normal Beetle. It's far closer to a BMW or a boutique manufacturer product than to a Volkswagen.'

Photos by: Abimelec Design

That got him thinking about what a more luxurious Beetle might look like. While Volkswagen has never really had its own Alpina, Abimelec figured the Bavarian tuning house would be a natural fit.

'Even though they obviously only tune BMWs, I've done a few Alpina 'what ifs' before, leaving the BMW brand a little bit, and people love to explore the possibility.'

Abimelec has experimented with taking the tuner's design language beyond the Bavarian brand. Previous projects have included a Range Rover, a Toyota Supra, and a Porsche 911 (964). The Beetle is the latest addition to that collection, and probably our favorite of the bunch.

A More Upscale Beetle With A Turbo VR6

The rendering is just a design exercise, but Abimelec does have a specific powertrain in mind for his fictional Alpina Beetle:

'The car is meant to have a turbo VR6 and an automatic.'

That would make sense; the Beetle RSi was a pretty serious machine, complete with a naturally aspirated 3.2-liter VR6 engine packing 221 horsepower, a six-speed manual, and all-wheel drive. A turbocharged version of that unit in an Alpina Beetle would (theoretically) be the perfect fit.

What do you think?

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Of course, there's no reason to expect anything like this to become reality. Alpina is now officially under the BMW Group umbrella, and Volkswagen discontinued the Beetle back in 2019. The chances of the two ever collaborating are pretty much nonexistent.

But we'd have a hard time turning down a little Beetle with a turbocharged VR6, automatic transmission, and Alpina badges.