photography by MARC URBANOIN THE EARLY 1960S, Burkard Boven-
siepen found escape from his family’s
German typewriter-manufacturing busi-
ness by affixing hotter carbs in BMWs.
Stealing the Alpina name from the type-
writer outfit, he earned racing success and
developed a sort of clairvoyance, anticipat-
ing high-performance BMWs before BMW
did, starting with the more powerful Alpina
1500 and 1600 sedans, which predated the
factory 1800 and iconic 2002.
Alpina left racing at the end of the 1977 season to begin its road-
car operations with mightier 3-, 5-, and 6-series models (again,
effectively presaging BMW’s own M3, M5, and M6) just as BMW’s
big new 7-series made its debut. BMW never built an M7, perhaps
because Alpina built its own 7-based creations. However, they were
never really what an M7 might have been; too calm and stoic for the
Motorsport badge. At least, not until now. After an onslaught of
increasingly technical and tense M sedans, the 2017 B7, Alpina’s lat-
est hot-rod 7-series, feels to us like what the biggest M car should be.
The all-wheel-drive B7 conjures some M fumes underhood
with its twin-turbo 4.4-liter V-8 from the 750i fortified with Mahle
pistons, a special exhaust, larger turbochargers pushing up to
20.0 psi of boost, and an Alpina intake and intercooler arrange-
ment. The resulting 600 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of
torque, 155 ponies and 110 pound-feet stronger than stock, match
exactly the output of the forthcoming
12-cylinder M760i, BMW’s first M-badged
7-series. Yet again, Alpina gives us a
glimpse of the future.
Here is enough power to rank the B7 as
the quickest dealership-sold BMW we’ve
ever tested, with 60 mph arriving in 3.4 sec-
onds and the quarter-mile smoked like a
robusto at the end of a Dyson vacuum: 11.6
seconds at 122 mph. The claimed top speed
is 193 mph, in case you drive a lot of empty
autobahns. A far more practical talent is the
B7’s high-speed stability as it effortlessly
sneaks up on triple-digit velocities between
speed traps.
Making the most of the 600 horsepower
is the excellent ZF eight-speed automatic
borrowed from the 7-series and given more
aggressive shift mapping here. Uncork its
full magnificence using the signature
Alpina shift buttons on the back of the
steering wheel, which are not paddles but
hidden nubs wrapped in the same leather as
the rest of the rim. Kinky.
There’s nothing deviant about the B7’s
air-sprung suspension, which is tuned for
maximum grip and comfort, a combo fast
fading from the BMW M portfolio. Deliver-
ing its potent neutral handling and 0.97 g
without riding as if the suspension, the
large-diameter wheels, and the rubber-
band-thin tires are locked in a struggle, the
Alpina limo manages to outshine not only
every contemporary M car but every main-
stream BMW in this regard.
Outrunning all large sedans save for the
Audi S8 Plus and the Tesla Model S, boast-
ing exclusive Alpina flourishes, and chan-
neling the core competencies of late BMW
M cars we miss all amply justify the B7’s
$137,995 base price. It’s worth even more,
we’d say. And it would make one hell of an
M7—or, at least, a helpful, 206.7-inch-long
arrow pointing the way back to the Ulti-
mate Driving Machines that BMW’s M divi-
sion could (and should) still be building.M Who?
Alpina’s B7 is BMW’s quickest vehicle.
_by Alexander Stoklosa
2017 BMW ALPINA
B7 xDRIVE
VEHICLE TYPE: front-
engine, all-wheel-drive,
5-passenger, 4-door
sedan
PRICE AS TESTED:
$156,445
BASE PRICE: $137,995
ENGINE TYPE:
twin-turbocharged and
intercooled DOHC
32-valve V-8, aluminum
block and heads, direct
fuel injection
DISPLACEMENT:
268 cu in, 4395 cc
POWER:
600 hp @ 6250 rpm
TORQUE:
590 lb-ft @ 3000 rpm
TRANSMISSION:
8-speed automatic with
manual shifting mode
DIMENSIONS
WHEELBASE: 126.4 in
LENGTH: 206.7 in
WIDTH: 74.9 in
HEIGHT: 58.7 in
PASSENGER VOLUME:
115 cu ft
TRUNK VOLUME:
18 cu ft
CURB WEIGHT: 4899 lbC/D TEST RESULTS
ZERO TO 60 MPH:
3.4 sec
ZERO TO 100 MPH:- 8 s e c
ZERO TO 170 MPH:
26.6 sec
ROLLING START, 5–60
MPH: 4.3 sec
1/4-MILE:
11.6 sec @ 122 mph
TOP SPEED: 193 mph
(mfr’s claim)
BRAKING, 70–0 MPH:
151 ft
ROADHOLDING,
300-FT-DIA
SKIDPAD: 0.97 g
FUEL ECONOMY
EPA COMBINED/CITY/
HWY: 18/16/24 mpg
C/D OBSERVED:
19 mpg
Extreme
quickness,
capable
handling, near
bargain price.
Should be
inducted
as a full-blown
M c a r.7UP
For the B7, Alpina
fits bigger turbos
(puffing up to
20.0 psi of boost)
plus new intake and
exhaust systems
to BMW’s 4.4-liter
V-8 to create a
V-12–rivaling 600
horses and accel-
eration unrivaled
by any BMW.- CAR AND DRIVER. MAR/2017
TESTED