$150,000 BMW Alpina XB7 Offers Effortless Power

The world of bespoke automobiles lives on in the hands of tuners who add even more performance and luxury to high-end cars. The 2021 BMW Alpina XB7 is a case in point with a whisper-quiet ride, a zero-to-60-mph time of 4 seconds and the ability to smartly lap a race track despite weighing 5,860 pounds.

“Tuner” is a genteel way of saying hot rodder, except more money often changes hands and attention is paid to improving the cockpit environment as well as the engine, suspension and exhaust. Hot rodders make cars fast; tuners make cars fast, luxurious and usually less noisy. Vehicles modified by top-notch tuners often are sold in dealerships and carry the automaker’s regular warranty.

The XB7 is powered by a 4.4-liter bi-turbo V8 engine mated to a high-performance eight-speed automatic transmission (with wheel-mounted shift buttons) that delivers 612 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque. It’s essentially the same engine block as the X7, but has more power over a wider range (max torque is between 2,000 and 5,000 rpm).

“Alpina is about effortless power,” says Michael Baxley, product manager for BMW’s X7, 7 Series and 8 Series lines. “Everything is extremely understated and powerful.”

“It’s different from our M Brand because it’s slightly more understated and not as loud,” Baxley said.

How Does a $150,000, Three-Ton XB7 SUV Drive?

It is luxurious inside but not much differs from its mainstream X7 counterpart except for the copious Alpina badging. They’re on the steering wheel, the shifter, the iDrive controller, the floor mats and door sill plates. If your kid spills an open pack of peanut-butter crackers, odds are it slides past an Alpina badge before it comes to rest. The seats have massagers and accompanying audio can be played for alertness or relaxation. LEDs in the moonroof emulate a starry night. The second row is a bench but captain’s chairs are available. For an SUV that stretches 203.3 inches long, the middle row only offers 37.6 inches of legroom. That’s only a coupe tenths better than a Honda Civic and 3 inches less than the midsize Accord. As expected, the third row is snug but passable for kids and shorter adults.

On public roads encumbered by potholes and speed limits—that is, roads where the SUV’s 180-mph top speed can’t be approached—the XB7 is a capable performer that has passengers floating on air, literally. It has a two-axle adaptive air spring suspension that allows for a 1.6-inch change in ride height depending on speed or setting. Below 19 mph, it lifts 1.6 inches. In Sport mode or at 100 mph, it drops 0.8 inches. In Sport + or at 155 mph it goes down another 0.8 inches. The miles float by on a long trip and the exhaust note is muted unless the Sport button is pressed, which opens exhaust flaps for a sportier sound. The rear wheels steer by as much as 2.3 degrees in the same direction as the fronts at highway speeds, in the opposite direction in town for easier parking. Sort of like the crabwalk of the Hummer EV.

At the track—in this case Monticello Motor Club 90 miles northwest of New York City—the XB7 exhibits near-unbelievable levels of acceleration, cornering and braking. The reworked engine has an essentially flat torque curve (the availability of full power) from 2,000 rpm all the way up to 5,000 rpm. Active roll stabilization reduces body roll in turns.

As is the case with other truly high-performance sport sedans—and now SUVs—unless driven at the track, or perhaps in the deserted Nevada desert in summer (not legal, but people do it), the upper 100 mph of the XB7’s available performance won’t be tapped. The same holds for Alpina’s adaptation of the 7 Series sedan, the B7 where B stands for Benzin (gasoline-powered), and for most AMG versions of Mercedes-Benzes.

BMW has held a relationship with Alpina since 1960s; the outfit is located an hour west of BMW’s Munich headquarters. AMG does the same thing for Mercedes-Benz—build the yin-yang mix of performance and luxury—except Mercedes owns AMG outright. The Alpina and AMG editions are are typically the highest-performing, highest-priced versions of each model. The U.S. automakers have tuner firms, including Rousch Performance for Ford and Callaway Cars for Corvettes.

How Much Does A BMW XB7 Cost?

An XB7 with a starting price of $142,295 (including shipping) begins life on BMW’s Spartanburg, South Carolina, SUV assembly line alongside the 335-horsepower BMW X7 xDrive40i ($75,895) and the 523-horsepower X7 M50i ($100,795). Spartanburg builds the X3, X4, X5, X5, X6 and X7 SUVs, enough to make it America’s largest car exporter by revenue the last decade. (Only the X2 is built elsewhere.) As the soon-to-be XB7 moves down the line the Alpina parts are added. The 4.4-liter V8 engine gets larger turbos and additional radiators to cool the engine oil and water. The automatic transmission is beefed up. The exhaust system is stainless steel. The dashboard covering is leather and buyers can specify Alpina-exclusive dashboard woods. “The seats and the interior upholstery are all based on the X7,” said Baxley.

The second row can be had as a bench seat for seven total passengers or with captain’s chairs for six. The seats recline but they’re nowhere near as nice as the second row business-class recliners on the current-generation Mercedes-Benz Maybach GLS (the X7 full-size equal). Maybach is a high-end-luxury luxury sub-brand; the Mercedes-Maybach S 650 sedan starts at $247,000.

Baxley says BMW’s near-future direction is to make the front-seat passenger’s seat uber-luxurious and recline in a way that prevents passenger from sliding forward if the car slows suddenly. This was shown in concept as the ZeroG Lounger at the CES 2020 show in January in Las Vegas.

Some Alpina components have to be hand-fitted to the XB7 off the production line. In Germany, the nearly complete cars are shipped to Buchloe. In Spartanburg, there’s a dedicated Alpina final assembly room just off the line. BMW dealers sell the finished vehicles that also carry the same four-year, 50,000-mile warranty as the rest of the lineup.

With every option box checked, the Alpina XB7 reaches $156,895, including a Bowers & Wilkins 20-speaker audio system ($3,400) and massive twenty-three inch wheels, $2,600 over the standard 21-inch alloys. A full-suite of driver assists is standard, including an effective highway self-driving mode (the driver still must remain alert).

For enthusiasts looking for a BMW that stands apart from the mainstream, there are gradations on the BMW M/Motorsport theme that range from white, red and blue M badges sourced from the dealer parts counter to M-flavored cars such as the M550i (523 horsepower, $77,795) and the all-out M5 (600 horsepower, $104,500). They are fast, powerful, some with firm (read: stiff) suspensions and throaty-unto-loud suspensions. The cardinal rule about buying a full-on M car is bring your partner for the test drive and hit some bumpy pavement. The ones without adaptive suspensions may be hard on the relationship.

An Alpina BMW is most comparable to the all-out M version (here, the X7 M50i). The Alpina will have a smoother ride, wider power band and less exhaust noise inside the cockpit and out. There is a price premium, in this case $41,500 for an SUV that doesn’t look radically different except for the front-side-rear badges, and Alpina-blue Brembo brakes. The Alpina is for drivers who want to go fast but don’t want an in-your-face vehicle. That may be the quiet wealth speaking.