Founded back in 1965, the Alpina company is turning 50 this year and the moment wasn't going to be overlooked by its founder, Mr. Burkhart Bovensiepen. Therefore, he invited some of the drivers that wrote history behind the wheel of some of his products to speak out about their experience.

The two most notable people that accepted are true legends in Motorsport: Niki Lauda and Hans Stuck. The two used to race cars tuned by the German manufacturer back in the 1970s and they were more than glad to share their thoughts on how things happened back then.

For example, Niki remembered when he was racing on the Nurburgring and, having plenty of room ahead of his followers, was asked by Burkhart to pull into the pit lane to have the car washed so that it was clean when it crossed the finish line first. That was a demand that only left Lauda wondering if the man was in his right mind.

On the other hand, Stuck, who is known for his flabbergasting character and as a big prankster, decided to sneak a duck inside Mr. Bovensiepen's room and let it do its thing. Not only that but he also took out most of the screws from the poor man's bed, causing it to break in the middle of the night. It was all fun and games though.

However, there was one more thing that Niki Lauda remembered that could shed some light on why the company is and always was about bringing out powerful cars that were also elegant. It's Burkhart's character. You see, no matter how long they would spend on a track or how much they'd struggle in a day or how hot it was, Mr. Bovernsiepen was always the only one with a black jacket on, showing elegance and grace in his every move.

The Alpina name is actually related to the Alps

In the 10 minute-long clip published below, the founder of the company also sheds some insight on how everything kicked off and how it developed over the years.

The name was originally used for the typewriter-making company that preceded the car-tuning part later on. Yes, Alpina used to make typewriters before teaming up with BMW, and the name came from his mother that considered it was nice that it would be similar in most languages around the world. They were also close to the Alps, and that left a mark as well.

The first car they ever looked at was the BMW 1500 and, since it had a lot of room under the bonnet and just a tiny carburetor to mix things up, they decided to do something about it. From installing more carburetors on rather standard blocks, they evolved into a proper manufacturer over the years, one that gives BMW a run for their money.