B7 Alpina B7 - First Drives (Motortrend…)

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First Drive: 2011 BMW Alpina B7

B7 Bomber: When the Wealthy Go Stealthy

The all-new 2011 BMW Alpina B7, rolling on exclusive 20-spoke 21-inch alloy wheels and wearing a bold body kit - brand-new front fascia, rear spoiler, and rear lower valance that help reduce front lift 30 percent and rear lift 50 percent -- looks stealthier than any F01 7 Series model to date. If Hollywood made "Ronin 2," the B7 xDrive would be De Niro's ride of choice. Not only does the Alpina look strong, mean, and sleek, as if it could pounce on an apex in the blink of an eye, but it coddles up to five crewmembers in complete comfort and, with standard rear drive (xDrive all-wheel drive is a $3000 option) and an electronically limited top speed of 174 mph, it makes for one masterful escape vehicle. When purchasing a B7, though, don't expect to escape the dealership without plopping down at least $124,175. In fact, with only around 500 destined for the U.S. per year (BMW will build roughly 1000 annually at its Dingolfing factory), the Alpina B7, the priciest V-8-powered 7 in BMW's lineup, will no doubt command premiums well above its list price. Worth it? But of course.

At the 7 Series' Dinfolfing digs, workers on BMW's "bespoke line" assemble the B7's twin-turbo V-8, which is based on the 750's 400-horsepower, 450-pound-foot N63 unit and then modified with specialized 44mm Honeywell turbochargers, Mahle pistons, a reinforced cylinder head, and NGK spark plugs. Exhaling through an Alpina low-back-pressure exhaust, the B7's mill is rated at 500 horsepower at 5500 rpm and 516 pound-feet of torque at 3000 rpm. Fuel economy, at 17 mpg combined for the rear-drive B7, has not suffered, equaling that of a 750i.

2011 BMW Alpina B7 First Drive - Motor Trend

 

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InsideLine Edmunds - First Drive: Alpina B7



After one stab of the loud pedal, you understand why BMW doesn't bother to make an M version of the 7 Series. The 2011 BMW 750Li Alpina B7 is all the M7 you'll ever want, a fire-breathing 500-horsepower version of the BMW 7 Series that doesn't forget that it's all right to be comfortable while you're hurtling down the autobahn at top speed.

Fortunately the 2011 BMW 750Li Alpina B7 isn't restricted to the German autobahn. The Alpina B7 is available through BMW dealers in the U.S. as the successor to the limited-edition 2007-'08 Alpina B7.

The Alpina B7 is actually the fourth generation of Alpina's high-performance version of the full-size BMW sedan. And now that Alpina also has its own design, engineering and test center, the B7 is also the most comprehensively engineered car in that series. Maybe that's why the 2011 BMW 750Li Alpina B7 manages a subtlety that completely belies the car's uniqueness.

Tuner car with tacked-on body kit and loud exhaust this is not.

Luxury, Minimalist Version
Settling into the custom-crafted interior of the 2011 BMW 750Li Alpina B7 is easy, since everything is in the same place as in a BMW 750i, except that it is made out of different stuff. Take the wood trim — myrtle burl, harvested from a tree farm on the Pacific Coast. The instrument gauges are now backlit in Alpina blue, with red needles replacing the standard orange items from BMW. The Alpina logo can be found on the instruments, the steering wheel, the seats and the door sills.

As soon as you take the steering wheel in your hands, you know you're in something special. The rim is finished with silky leather, and BMW's typical cross-stitching has been changed to a directional pattern so your hands aren't rubbed raw when you're spinning the wheel. Alpina has also installed its own proprietary control buttons, notably an aluminum nipple at either side that actuates transmission shifts.

But the most important thing about the steering wheel is that the rim is just the right thickness. You see, some terrible misconception in recent Bavarian history seems to have related the diameter of a steering wheel's rim to the sportiness of the car. Thus, when you order the Sport package of options for your modern BMW, you get a handful of fire hose. Happily, Alpina does away with that nonsense and brings us a steering wheel that is actually more useful as well as more elegant.

The Mr. Hyde Makes Dr. Jekyll Go
Push the ignition button and the car comes to life with a growl that settles into an audible but not intrusive burble. It's the perfect soundtrack for a $126,477 luxury car that happens to have 500 hp.

Our hosts have programmed the navigation system for us and the route reveals long, apparently deserted roads. This would be a problem if we were in, say, some kind of glorified kit car like a Lotus Exige. But since we're at the wheel of a 4,641-pound leviathan with 21-inch wheels, a 4.4-liter V8 and not one but two turbochargers, we're quite happy to learn that the majority of our driving will involve slamming the rightmost pedal to the floor and then holding on.

But before we descend into hooliganism, let us note that this long-wheelbase version of the Alpina B7 (known as the B7 Biturbo in Europe) proves perfectly drivable around town at speeds that are less than supersonic. The engine furnishes us with 516 pound-feet of torque from 3,000-4,750 rpm, which is to say pretty much everywhere. Given the right classical music station, you might remain blissfully unaware of the nature of this beast. The steering is effortless and the ride is actually softer and suppler than that of a conventional 7 Series.

But enough of this. We come to that long, straight road at last, mash the gas pedal, the Alpina-calibrated electronics kick the transmission down two gears and this whole hulking mass of steel is fired down the highway as if from a cannon. Shifts take less than two-hundredths of a second, so there's no coming up for air as the speedometer needle sweeps through the double digits. The rush of torque is addicting enough that it's hard to back off the throttle, but as we crest 130 mph with no sign of a letup under the hood, our survival instinct takes hold and we're going for the brakes.

Now This Is Engineering
Anyone can take a 750i and turn up the boost. The real story here is in the engineering that Alpina has put into its effort. This company has come a long way since 1962 when Burkhard Bovensiepen put dual Weber carburetors on the BMW 1500. Alpina progressed from a motorsports tuner to a full-fledged small-volume manufacturer in 1983, and now it's a full partner with BMW, producing a whole range of specialty cars derived from BMW models. When you buy the 2011 BMW 750Li Alpina B7, it's even backed by a full BMW warranty.

Everywhere you look, this Alpina shows evidence of a comprehensive approach to performance engineering. The floor pan has numerous structural reinforcements. The brakes come from the BMW 760i Protection, BMW's 7,000-pound armored sedan. The usual six-speed ZF-built transmission has been fitted with strengthened gears, including some from ZF's gearbox for 7.5-ton trucks. Even the driveshaft and axles are the beefed-up units from the 760i Protection.

This is heavy-duty engineering that's all about reliability and durability. Many of these cars end up in hot places like Hong Kong or the United Arab Emirates, where they see duty as stoplight racers, so there's a bigger radiator, an oil cooler and three bigger intercoolers, not to mention a rear differential cooler. There are so many coolers here, you'd think a nuclear reactor was locked inside.……

2011 BMW 750Li Alpina B7 First Drive

 

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The real story here is in the engineering that Alpina has put into its effort. When you buy the 2011 BMW 750Li Alpina B7, it's even backed by a full BMW warranty.

Everywhere you look, this Alpina shows evidence of a comprehensive approach to performance engineering.

This is heavy-duty engineering that's all about reliability and durability.

2011 BMW 750Li Alpina B7 First Drivehttp://www.insideline.com/bmw/alpina-b7/2011/2011-bmw-750li-alpina-b7-first-drive.html

Summed up, that says it all...true masterful engineering!

 

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Summed up, that says it all...true masterful engineering!

Absolutely…and you can do the service at every BMW authorized dealer…totally perfect.

 

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Truly a special automobile. Beauty, performance, practicality and exclusivity. What else could we possibly ask for?

 

[ree]

Truly a special automobile. Beauty, performance, practicality and exclusivity. What else could we possibly ask for?

Here in germany/europe? An Alpina D7… - they did a great job with the D3 BiTurbo, then imagine such a package for the 7-series! Stunning!

 

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Car and Driver - 2011 BMW Alpina B7 - First Drive Review

Alpina’s B7 is as close to an M7 as you can get.


For readers who aren’t totally steeped in BMW lore, the Alpina name may be a bit of a mystery. But it’s a pretty simple one to clear up: Alpina is to BMW what AMG used to be to Mercedes-Benz: an independent racing and tuning shop that has factory approval. (AMG is now wholly owned by Mercedes, however.) Alpina, for instance, co-developed the fabulous 3.0 CSL coupe with BMW in the early 1970s and is formally recognized as an automobile manufacturer by the German Federal agency.

Alpina caught the eyes of the American market primarily with two cars: the Alpina Roadster V-8 that was imported beginning in 2003 and the Alpina B7 that was sold in the U.S. from 2007 to 2009. Based on the previous-generation E65 7-series, the B7 sold only 748 units here.

BMW and Alpina are hoping that the new B7 will do better, especially since it is coming to the U.S. just a year after the current F01 (F02 for long-wheelbase cars) 7-series platform went on sale in early 2009. They are aiming to sell 500 cars a year in the U.S., out of an overall production of 1000 to 1500 annually. This would vault the U.S. into position as the largest market in the world for Alpina, which says its mission isn’t quite as hard core as AMG’s. Its target is the Jaguar R-series, where the emphasis is on marrying great cornering performance with good ride quality.

Alpina takes both long- and short-wheelbase 750 BMWs, with or without xDrive all-wheel-drive, and thoroughly massages them. The 4.4-liter V-8 engine gets bigger turbochargers, reinforced cylinder heads, high-performance pistons, and Alpina software. The maximum boost pressure is raised to 14.5 psi, which helps to lift output from 400 hp and 450 lb-ft of torque to 500 and 516, respectively. These numbers are identical to the old B7’s supercharged engine, but the torque is generated at 3000 rpm, 1250 revs lower. To cope with the extra heat generated by its upgrades, Alpina fits an additional radiator and engine-oil cooler, an external transmission oil cooler, a higher-performing fan, and larger-capacity intercoolers with larger-diameter water lines.

The car doesn’t use the ZF eight-speed automatic transmission found in the regular 7-series, instead using a beefed-up ZF six-speed. Manual shifting is effected by buttons on the back of the steering wheel—right for upshifts, left for down. The driveshaft and half-shafts are reinforced, while a stiffer iron differential case is fitted in place of the 7-series’ aluminum housing.

The chassis also comes in for attention. The spring rates are stiffened by around 20 percent, the front and rear ride heights are reduced by 0.6 and 0.4 inches respectively, and the traction- and stability-control settings are tweaked. Alpina fits 21-inch wheels on all versions, but only the rear-drive short-wheelbase car gets the sticky Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 tires in staggered sizes 245/35 up front and 285/30 out back. The brakes are the biggest in BMW’s inventory, sourced from the armored 7-series protection package. Overall, Alpina says that the new car weighs 4564 pounds in short-wheelbase rear-drive form.

Whether long- or short-wheelbase, the B7 is a handsome device, the 7-series’ demeanor enhanced by its lowered stance and those utterly gorgeous wheels. Other exterior changes are unique exhaust tips, a different front spoiler and fascia that incorporates three additional intakes for cooling, and a different rear valance and trunk spoiler. Alpina says that the rear spoiler reduces lift by 15 percent at 87 mph and the front one is responsible for a 30-percent reduction. Inside, there are blue illuminated sill plates, a hand-stitched Lavalina leather steering wheel, unique piano black or myrtle burl walnut trim, an Alpina gauge cluster, and lots of Alpina logos.

We sampled B7s on road and track and can report that they are way sportier than a 750i or 750Li, but don’t have the hard-edged character of an S63 Mercedes. The engine unleashes waves of torque all the way up the rev range, but is quiet and unobtrusive unless you bury your foot to the firewall, when it makes a stirring, gruff growl. BMW claims 0 to 60 mph takes 4.5 seconds, with an added tenth for the all-wheel-drive versions. Top speed is governed to 175 mph, which is 12 mph down on the previous car’s maximum. The EPA estimates 14 mpg in the city for all cars. Rear-drivers are quoted at 21 mpg on the highway, with the xDrive all-wheel-drive models quoted at 20.

On the street, the car rides superbly in comfort mode—just like a regular 7-series, there are comfort, normal, sport, and sport-plus chassis and drivetrain settings—and is very well damped even in sport plus. As with a regular 7-series, we prefer the extra weight of the steering in the sport settings. Although the buttons work really well for manual shifts, they’re almost superfluous on a car with this much torque unless you’re planning to go to a track, which we don’t think is that likely for the vast majority of the owner body.

However, we did experience the car on track in both the wet and dry, and can report that it’s really impressive for such a big vehicle. The body motions are well controlled and it turns in to corners with an enthusiasm that seems at odds with its size and weight. With the stability system off, it’s possible to get big oversteery moments, but the car is generally well behaved. Compared with a 750Li, there’s less initial understeer and it corners with a flatter, more neutral stance. The brakes are superb, imparting much more confidence than the binders on a 750Li we tried.

The B7 starts at $124,175, including destination and gas-guzzler tax. The long-wheelbase model costs $3900 extra and all-wheel-drive adds $3000 to either. Options include active cruise control ($2400); night vision ($2600); a tech package bundling lane-departure warning, active headlamps, and blind-spot detection ($1350); a rear-seat entertainment system ($2200); and, on long-wheelbase models only, ventilated and massaging rear seats ($3700). The B7 costs $40,000 more than a 750i—still about $16,000 less than the long-wheelbase-only V-12–powered 760Li—but the long-wheelbase version undercuts the S63 AMG by $9350. We’re never quite sure why luxury-car buyers feel the need to buy sportier versions of luxury liners, but the B7 strikes us as a nice compromise, even if it lacks the grittiness of the AMG machine.


2011 BMW Alpina B7 - First Drive Review - Auto Reviews - Car and Driver


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