Popken’s first project under his Atelier Edo Popken banner was a BMW Z8, bought from its original owner through Perillo Motors in Chicago and brought back to Switzerland. He liked the six-speed manual and the ALPINApina wheel design, but not the color options. ALPINA’s own roadster never came in green. It was offered in standard BMW colors, with a handful of European-spec cars finished in ALPINA Blue.
So Popken had his local body shop, NYFELER, a Swiss outfit with a background in hand-built aluminum bodies and prototype restoration, blend a custom green from ALPINA’s own Green I and Green II, working through different base coats until the metallic flake gave the paint the depth he wanted. The Z8 was stripped to individual panels, and the underbody was painted to the same standard as the visible bodywork. ALPINA’s Buchloe workshop handled the interior in a bicolor Lavalina leather based on Popken’s own sketches, and a German soft-top specialist swapped the black roof for a matching deep green one. That car is still in his personal collection.
Why This Had To Be Called A Homage
The new car applies the same idea to a Z4, and the name on the fender is deliberate. BMW’s 2022 acquisition of the ALPINA brand, which fully took effect as the Bovensiepen family’s independent operation wound down, means Andreas and Florian Bovensiepen no longer control the ALPINA paint and stitching colors, the 20-spoke wheel design, or the ALPINAina diamond pattern. Those assets went to BMW along with the name. Popken has long-standing ties to the Bovensiepen family and to BMW, where he serves as a brand ambassador for the i8, and he built this car as a tribute to that relationship rather than an attempt to pass it off as a factory car.
What’s Actually On The Car
The build starts with Atelier Edo Popken’s Leggera package, which strips 31 kg from the six-speed manual Z4 before any of the ALPINA-inspired parts go on. From there:
- A custom Atelier EP ALPINA Green metallic paint, mixed specifically for this car
- Lightweight performance brakes with calipers finished in the ALPina blue most enthusiasts associate with the brand
- 20-spoke ALP Classic forged wheels, wrapped in Michelin Z-rated performance tires, 255-section up front and 285 out back
- Carbon front air intakes with a diamond-pattern silhouette
- Exterior trim and wheel accents finished in a matte techno graphite
- A two-tone bespoke leather interior with perforated seating surfaces and contrast stitching
Popken says the mechanical package is unchanged from the standard Leggera spec: six-speed manual, more than 400 hp, over 600 Nm of torque, and a top speed above 155 mph.
The car remains a one-off. Popken has not said whether Atelier Edo Popken plans to build additional Alpina Green Leggera roadsters to order, and no pricing has been disclosed. It joins the Z8 as the second car in his personal collection built around the same idea: BMW mechanicals, Alpina-inspired detailing, and a color neither company ever put into production. [Photos: Edo Popken]
