One person’s luxury vehicle is another person’s basic transportation. Take the BMW X7 (“On the Road,” April 2023). That’s BMW’s full-size SUV. The “base” model (the X7 xDrive 40i) has 375 horsepower and a starting price of $87,500. Keeping it under six figures with options and delivery charges is an exercise in restraint.
What fun is that, though, when for an extra $27,500 (the price of a whole Honda Civic), you can step up to the BMW X7 M60i, with 523 horsepower and a starting price of $115,000?
But, for the well-heeled (even by Peninsula standards), the M60i might be just a bit too common. Which brings us to the BMW XB7 Alpina.
In 1965, Burkard Bovensiepen was in the business of making typewriters, but used the factory to create a dual Weber carburetor for the compact BMW 1500. BMW liked his work, put the carburetor in their cars with a full factory guarantee, and suddenly Burkard’s typewriter company, Aspen, was a performance tuning company named Alpina.
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Alpina morphed from tuner to manufacturer. Alpina builds the engines by hand, and then delivers them to the factory, where they are installed in bodies made by BMW. BMW then ships the body back to Alpina, which does the interior with its own leathers and performs various other upgrades and optimizations.
And that’s what separates the 2025 XB7 Alpina from the X7 M60i. $152,400 ($153,995 with destination) buys a very special, low-volume, high-output machine, with 631 horsepower, which BMW says means 0-60 in 3.9 seconds – 6/10ths of a second faster than the M60i, while matching its EPA fuel economy estimate of 16 mpg city/20 highway.
But the XB7 Alpina delivers a more refined approach to performance and speed than the fire-and-brimstone M60i can provide, with a complete reworking of the chassis and more powerful brakes. The ride is silky-smooth, and yet there’s no compromise made in its handling prowess. Standard equipment includes 23-inch wheels, an Alpina-specific body kit, a crystal gear selector, walnut wood trim and virtually every extra-cost option on the M60i included as standard equipment.
The only upcharges on the XB7 Alpina I drove were the Ivory White and Atlas Grey leather interior ($1,500), second-row captain’s chairs ($850) and the astonishingly good Bowers & Wilkins Diamond surround-sound audio system ($3,400), which took the as-tested price to $159,145.
Further justification for the expense – the XB7 Alpina is comparatively rare – only a few hundred sold every year. For 2026, the XB7 will be the only Alpina model. And it’s the last of a breed.
In 2022, BMW announced plans to acquire Alpina from the Bovensiepen family, and on Jan. 1, 2026, its integration as a wholly-owned division of BMW was completed. BMW is promoting a “new chapter” for Alpina. What that means in terms of specifics, they’re not saying. If you want a “true” Alpina, a ’25 or ’26 XB7 is your last chance.
Mike Hagerty, past vice president of membership for Western Automotive Journalists (waj.org), has been writing about cars since 1997. Read more of his reviews at MikeHagertyCars.com.
