Founded in 1965, ALPINA is a German automotive tuner and manufacturer specializing in delivering upgraded components and up-specced ALPINA variants of existing BMW models. And ALPINA’s latest take on a modified ride from the Bavarian brand sees the famed tuning outfit apply its signature high-performance treatment upon the BMW X7 SUV.
Known as the ALPINA XB7, this massaged “sport activity vehicle” has been bestowed with a slew of upgrades, resulting in one of the highest-performance SUVs currently on the market. The team at ALPINA has treated the X7 to an up-specced powertrain with a twin-turbocharged 4.4-liter S68T0 V8 with an integrated 48-volt mild-hybrid system. Mated to an 8HP80MH Sport Automatic transmission, this turbocharged hybrid V8 puts down 630hp and 590ft-lbs of torque which allows for a 0-60mph time of 3.9 seconds and a top speed of 180mph — a massive bump over the 523-hp X7 M60i and its 4.5-second 0-60mph time and 130-mph top speed. The upgrades to the engine have also enabled the XB7 to achieve a 7,500-lb towing capacity and a payload of 1,180lbs.
ALPINA has also bestowed the XB7 with a top-of-the-line two-axle air suspension setup with ALPINA-specific dampers and kinematics, and multiple suspension modes. An Active Roll Stabilization system with electromechanical anti-roll bars, reinforced torsion struts, and ALPINA-specific dome-bulkhead struts collectively afford the luxury SUV markedly better body rigidity, as well. Weighing 5,986lbs at the curb, the XB7 also features BMW’s intelligent xDrive all-wheel-drive system and an electronically-variable limited-slip differential at the rear axle. Adorned in ALPINA badging inside and out, the XB7 also gets an ultra-plus revised interior, a number of ALPINA wheel options, ALPINA calipers, Integral Active Steering, and an ALPINA steering wheel with ALPINA SWITCH-TRONIC wheel-mounted shift buttons.
Starting at $145,000 — plus a $995 destination and handling fee — the 2023 BMW ALPINA XB7 will be available for order later this month, with deliveries scheduled to begin in early Q1 of 2023.
