Photo: SB-Medien
The X7 may be a 3-row flagship for the BMW brand, but we know it's not going to have a true M version. This decision has our support, but it leaves the door wide open for competition to swoop in and "borrow" some millionaire customers. Thankfully, Alpina was able to step in and create a high-performance luxury model the XB7... or XD7 if you live in Europe.
The company from Buchloe, Germany is far from being a BMW customizer. It has access to all the latest platforms and engines before the general public can sample them. Given how popular custom 7 Series modes have become in the Middle East, we wouldn't be surprised if the XB7/XD7 becomes their main bread-earner.
This test prototype was photographed recently at and around the Nurburgring. Given how Alpina models handled in the past, we're not surprised that the custom X7 doesn't corner like it's on rails. This is about adding speed and class, not shaving seconds from your lap times.
The body kit is a cool thing. In fact, if we owned an X7, we'd try to buy one online and have it retrofitted. It's just the usual Alpina ground effects and simple styling, but it's like adding a plinth to a good sculpture - you might not notice it otherwise. If not te body kit, then we'd at least have the multi-spoke wheel design, which has been around since the beginning of time yet still looks modern on every Alpina project.
As the names suggest, we're probably going to have two models here, as with the popular XB3 and XD3 SUVs. Europe needs a diesel, though we're not sure how Alpina is going to improve the quad-turbo 3-liter. They've already boasted that the smaller XD5 (based on the X5) will become the world's most powerful diesel SUV, which means the inline-6 needs to overtake the Audi SQ7's 435 horsepower V6 setup.
Things are a little easier with the XB7, as Alpina can already modify the 4.4-liter V8 from your average "50i" system and give it over 600 ponies. Of course, it's also about custom leather and exclusivity here, not just raw numbers.
This test prototype was photographed recently at and around the Nurburgring. Given how Alpina models handled in the past, we're not surprised that the custom X7 doesn't corner like it's on rails. This is about adding speed and class, not shaving seconds from your lap times.
The body kit is a cool thing. In fact, if we owned an X7, we'd try to buy one online and have it retrofitted. It's just the usual Alpina ground effects and simple styling, but it's like adding a plinth to a good sculpture - you might not notice it otherwise. If not te body kit, then we'd at least have the multi-spoke wheel design, which has been around since the beginning of time yet still looks modern on every Alpina project.
As the names suggest, we're probably going to have two models here, as with the popular XB3 and XD3 SUVs. Europe needs a diesel, though we're not sure how Alpina is going to improve the quad-turbo 3-liter. They've already boasted that the smaller XD5 (based on the X5) will become the world's most powerful diesel SUV, which means the inline-6 needs to overtake the Audi SQ7's 435 horsepower V6 setup.
Things are a little easier with the XB7, as Alpina can already modify the 4.4-liter V8 from your average "50i" system and give it over 600 ponies. Of course, it's also about custom leather and exclusivity here, not just raw numbers.
Google News