There are few places in America where a BMW feels more at home than Amelia Island. The setting helps — salt air, old oaks, a golf course that’s been hosting great cars for decades. And every year, the BMW community answers that call in force. The 2026 Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance was no exception. From a world debut on the show field to a sprawling Cars and Coffee that reminded everyone why BMW ownership is less a hobby and more a way of life.
BMW ALPINA XB7 Limited Edition: 120 for America
The big news this year came from ALPINA. The brand used Amelia Island to debut the XB7 Limited Edition for the North American market — just 120 units allocated for the United States. It’s individually numbered, hand-built in the ALPINA tradition, and brings the full limited-edition treatment to what is already one of the more quietly impressive machines money can buy.
Cars and Coffee: The Cars
Fifty BMW owners got their cars onto the field for Sunday morning’s Cars and Coffee, and the spread was a good one.The E30 M3 needs no introduction at this point. Every example that shows up at a show like this is a survivor, and this one was no different — boxy, purposeful, exactly right. The E36 M3s were there too, still fighting for the respect they deserve. The E46 M3s made a strong showing, and for good reason: the S54, the chassis, the steering — it all still holds up.
But the car that stopped many people in their tracks was an E46 M3 Touring with an SMG gearbox. A wagon. With M power. It shouldn’t exist, and yet there it was, probably the most photographed car of the entire weekend. No complaints from anyone.
On the newer end, several G80 M3s were on display, including the 50 years edition in Interlagos Blue — one of 500 built for America. Standing next to an E30 M3, the color conversation practically writes itself.
The 2002s, the Baur, and an Original ALPINA 02
Any BMW gathering worth attending has a solid 2002 contingentand Amelia delivered. Multiple examples were on display, including a clean one from the team at Precision Sport Industrieswho know their way around an early BMW. There was also a BMW 2002 Baur Cabriolet on the field — the Targa-roofed coachbuilt version from Stuttgart that BMW never officially offered as a convertible. They don’t come up often, and this one was in proper order.
The early-car highlight, though, was an original ALPINA 02. Twin carburetors, Buchloe provenance, a direct line to where the whole ALPINA story began. Standing a few feet away from the new XB7 Limited Edition, the contrast — and the continuity — was hard to miss.
The Community
What Amelia Island delivers every year, beyond the debuts and the lawn and the trophies, is a reminder of why this community works. BMW people tend to talk to each other. They share what they know, help with restorations, argue about the right era with genuine enthusiasm rather than snobbery. The person with a well-used E36 gets the same welcome as the person with a concours-quality E9.
BMWBLOG has been coming to Amelia Island for years, and that part hasn’t changed. And next March, the BMW community will be back once again on the grass at Amelia Island. It’s just second home now.
