Photo: SB-Medien
Alpina has a long history of coming up with some of the best custom BMWs ever. But we doubt its founders could ever have imagined something like the X7 when they were fitting carburetors to those classic 2-door saloons.
For lack of a better description, BMW used to be a maker or chic European sports cars, with engines much smaller than its American counterparts of that era. But the modern-day X7, which by the way is made in South Carolina, very much feels like an American SUV or at least one that's been tailored to these tastes.
It's big, much longer than most parking sports allow in the crowded capital. And while BMW installed every piece of technology it could to make it easy to drive, you need a big lump of an engine to get going. At one point, it looked like the automaker wasn't going to offer hot versions, but in addition to the recently rumored X7 M60i, we also have this Alpina XB7.
The rivalry between these two is only theoretical, but we can also add another name to our list: Mercedes-Maybach GLS-Class. BMW already has something similar going on with the 7 Series. The M760Li got a lot of attention for its drag racing potential, but Alpina offered similar output and performance from a version it made with a smaller 4.4-liter V8.
The XB7 should have one of those too, not the M5 engine, but a heavily modified version of the xDrive50i system, packing about 600 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque. Naturally, this will be hooked up to xDrive and the familiar ZF 8HP gearbox. It will be quite interesting to see how all these big luxury SUVs compare in terms of max speed, as the B7 sedan costing about $145,000 will run out of puff at a supercar-like 205 miles per hour.
Of course, something like this is more about the luxury, but we can't forget the trademark Alpina body kit which has been paired here with some super-sized wheels.
It's big, much longer than most parking sports allow in the crowded capital. And while BMW installed every piece of technology it could to make it easy to drive, you need a big lump of an engine to get going. At one point, it looked like the automaker wasn't going to offer hot versions, but in addition to the recently rumored X7 M60i, we also have this Alpina XB7.
The rivalry between these two is only theoretical, but we can also add another name to our list: Mercedes-Maybach GLS-Class. BMW already has something similar going on with the 7 Series. The M760Li got a lot of attention for its drag racing potential, but Alpina offered similar output and performance from a version it made with a smaller 4.4-liter V8.
The XB7 should have one of those too, not the M5 engine, but a heavily modified version of the xDrive50i system, packing about 600 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque. Naturally, this will be hooked up to xDrive and the familiar ZF 8HP gearbox. It will be quite interesting to see how all these big luxury SUVs compare in terms of max speed, as the B7 sedan costing about $145,000 will run out of puff at a supercar-like 205 miles per hour.
Of course, something like this is more about the luxury, but we can't forget the trademark Alpina body kit which has been paired here with some super-sized wheels.
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