2013 BMW Alpina B7 LWB xDrive - Car and Driver
Alpina founder Burkard Bovensiepen developed a twin Weber kit to energize the drowsy BMW 1500 sedan in 1962, half a century ago. The first American Alpina was a version of the Z8 roadster with an automatic transmission , not what we’d call a great start. Then came a series of B7s based on BMW’s 7-series, first with the old Bangle-butt E65 in 2007 , then the current, sleeker F01 in 2010. Even with base prices of $128,495 for the rear-drive, short-wheelbase B7 and $135,395 for the AWD stretched... However, with Alpina’s annual U. S. sales at fewer than 500 units, this particularly elegant and sporty version of the 7-series will remain a rare bird. The result is that horsepower has grown from 500 to 540, while peak torque swells from 516 pound-feet to 538. As with all stock 7-series, the B7 also gets a version of the new ZF eight-speed automatic, which Alpina reinforces and reprograms to... Alpina’s state-of-the-art facilities near Munich reassure us that the B7 will be as reliable as any other BMW. Source: www.caranddriver.com
