2011 BMW Alpina B7

BMW Alpina B7 A custom-stitched steering wheel connects the driver to the B7's soul. The BMW/Alpina relationship has evolved to produce high-vitality concoctions with utmost efficiency. Instead of modifying a standard car into a special, Alpina delivers its parts assortment to the 7-series plant in Dingolfing, Germany, for BMW to assemble. Nearly finished B7s - available in short and long wheelbases with rear- or all-wheel drive - are shipped to Alpina's Buchloe works for some final touches.

Alpina's bill of materials includes a heat-treated cylinder block, special cylinder heads, turbochargers with larger compressor wheels, and intercoolers with 50 percent greater heat-exchanging capacity. Exterior upgrades include front and rear spoilers, a small rear extractor, and appropriately hunky rolling stock.

Case in point: in twenty seven years of reviewing cars, I even have never before had the prospect to drive an Alpina tweaked BMW. conjointly accessible may be a monstrous V12, sensible for 512hp and pitiful fuel mileage. Best of all, the Alpina B7 is absolutely lined by BMW’s four year, 50,000 mile warranty, which has a full maintenance program. therefore what constitutes an Alpina upgrade? very little Alpina niceties abound. The steering wheel hub contains the regal Alpina crest that consists of a vertical crankshaft brand. Matching cloisonné center hubs determine the special Alpina turbine-design road wheels. The Alpina wasn’t only 1 of the fastest cars on the road, however conjointly one in all the fastest cars at Laguna Seca’s Media Days. 2011 BMW ALPINA B7 SWB

BMW first offered the Alpina B7 to US consumers for model years 2007 and 2008, based on the previous-generation 7-series sedan. The super-sedan returns for 2011, available in both short- and long-wheelbase versions of the current 7 Series sedan, and the option this time of adding BMW’s X-Drive AWD system.

Visually, the Alpina B7 is set apart from lesser 7 Series cars by tasteful styling modifications. The B7 wears 20-spoke, 21-inch Alpina Classic wheels (which are notable for the fact that the air valve is hidden under the wheel’s center cap). BMW’s M vehicles tend to be cars heavily focused on performance, with that performance prioritized above comfort. The car features a version of BMW’s electronically-adjustable suspension with Active Roll Stabilization. Selecting Sport and Sport+ changes the throttle mapping in the Alpina-programed ECU to a more aggressive program. Gears can be changed manually using the Alpina Switchtronic buttons on the steering wheel or nudging the gear selector frontward or backward.

Alpina replaces BMW’s standard instruments with blue-faced items with luminescent characters and orange needles; the characters illuminate white in the daytime, and orange at night. When wearing polarized sunglasses during the daytime, the head-up display disappears – a problem that BMW has had from time to time with its in-car LCD displays as well. The interior of the Alpina B7 sedan features Alpina blue illuminated door sill trims, a heated steering wheel, and an Alcantara headliner with charcoal leather trim on the A-, B-, and C-pillars. The dashboard, door panels, center console, and seats are upholsterd in matching, hand-stitched Lavalina leather with nicely-detailed stitching; and the headliner is upholstered in beautifully-stitched charcoal Alcantara.

When starting the car and buckling the seatbelt, the belt cinches up a bit, tugging over the shoulders of the driver and front seat passenger, then releasing again to allow normal movement. The rear seats are heated, and each outboard position has its own climate control zone. Despite the car’s big footprint and enormous wheels, the turning radius seems quite small.

On the road, stomping on the accelerator produces from a standstill produces a chirp from the rear tires (mitigated by the car’s stability control system), followed by the type of acceleration uncommon in nearly any passenger car. Alpina worked near magic in the B7’s suspension tuning. In oversteer situations, the big BMW responds predictably to throttle and steering inputs, like something much smaller. Alpina has also done a good job in tuning the B7’s stability/traction control. While the system doesn’t turn OFF, it has a “Traction Mode”, which allows controlled rear wheelspin and oversteer; this mode can be manually chosen, but it is selected automatically if you choose Sport+ setting for the adjustable suspension. The Alpina B7 tested was equipped with a rear view camera in addition to front and rear parking sonar, but not with BMW’s surround view camera system nor with the self-parking system I sampled on the BMW 535i.