BMW Alpina is the BMW Group’s brand for fast, comfortable luxury cars, and BMW places it between its own models and Rolls-Royce. For six decades before that, Alpina was a family company in Buchloe, Bavaria, that rebuilt BMWs and sold them under its own name.
The XB7 was the version of the BMW X7 it sold in the United States. I photographed a 2025 XB7 over a week in June 2026, and those photos run through this article.
Key Takeaways
- A family company until 2025. Alpina Burkard Bovensiepen was founded on January 1, 1965, and began building its own cars on BMW foundations in 1978.
- A registered manufacturer since 1983 with Germany’s Federal Motor Transport Authority, employing about 300 people and building about 2,000 cars in 2021.
- BMW bought the brand rights in March 2022 and relaunched it as BMW ALPINA on January 1, 2026.
- The first BMW ALPINA model, inspired by the 7 Series, is due in 2027.
- On the X7, Alpina’s tune takes BMW’s 4.4-liter V8 from 523 hp in the M60i to 631 hp in the XB7.
- Service and parts for existing Alpinas stay in Buchloe for the long term.
Where Alpina Came From
Alpina Burkard Bovensiepen GmbH + Co. KG was officially founded on January 1, 1965, and worked in BMW tuning and motor racing through the 1960s. In 1978 it began building complete cars based on BMW models, and since 1983 Germany’s Federal Motor Transport Authority in Flensburg has registered it as an automotive manufacturer.
Each car was pre-assembled on a BMW production line. Final assembly took place in Alpina’s workshops in Buchloe, where each interior was trimmed to the customer’s order.
When BMW announced the deal in March 2022, Alpina employed about 300 people. It had built about 2,000 cars in 2021, the best year in its history, and sold them mainly in Germany and the rest of Europe, Japan, the United States and the Middle East.
The family’s second business is wine.
How BMW Took Over the Name
In March 2022 the Alpina trademark rights went to BMW, with no shares in the company changing hands. The two had worked under a cooperation agreement for decades, and its final extension ran to December 31, 2025.
On January 1, 2026, the BMW Group relaunched the brand as BMW ALPINA. Its new emblem draws a crankshaft and a row of individual throttle bodies, two signature elements carried over from the old Alpina logo. BMW ALPINA cars will come from selected BMW Group plants.
Oliver Viellechner, who runs the brand, said BMW ALPINA “fills a gap in our portfolio between BMW and Rolls-Royce.” The Vision BMW ALPINA concept, a V8 coupe for four, appeared at the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este in May 2026, and the first production model, inspired by the 7 Series, arrives in 2027.
Buchloe keeps the service, parts and accessories business for existing Alpina cars, which BMW said would stay there long term.
What Alpina Changes on an X7
The XB7’s engine cover still says BMW, with Alpina’s crest set into it below the letters. Underneath is the same 4.4-liter twin-turbocharged V8 that powers the X7 M60i, and Alpina’s tune raises it from 523 hp to 631 hp and 590 lb-ft.
Alpina writes its own software for the eight-speed automatic, which it calls Switch-Tronic, and its own calibration for the air suspension, adaptive dampers and active roll stabilization.
Twenty-spoke wheels are the part BMW kept as a signature of the new brand. On the XB7 they measure 23 inches, with the Alpina crest on each center cap and ALPINA spelled across the front lip spoiler.
Inside, the 2025 XB7 photographed here had Alpina Walnut Nature Black trim and a lit glass strip on the dashboard that spells out XB7. BMW ALPINA’s 2026 brand material describes the same direction for the new cars: leather, a wide color range and room for personal configuration.
Alpina’s SUVs Before the XB7
Alpina’s first SUV was the XD3 BiTurbo, a diesel based on the X3 that debuted at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show and sold only in Europe. When BMW announced the XB7 in May 2020, it called it Alpina’s first Sports Activity Vehicle for the U.S. market.
BMW wrote that the first XB7 to leave BMW Plant Spartanburg in South Carolina in 2020 “marked the very first time an ALPINA model had ever been completed outside the ALPINA workshop in Buchloe.”
Alpina and BMW M
BMW describes BMW ALPINA as “combining superior sporty performance with outstanding comfort,” most apparent over long distances. On the X7 the two meet in the M60i and the XB7, and the XB7 makes 108 hp more from the same V8.
The X7 never got a full M version.
The 2027 X7 M60i lists at $115,000, and the 2025 XB7 started at $152,400.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is BMW Alpina?
BMW ALPINA is a brand inside the BMW Group, relaunched on January 1, 2026, for fast and comfortable luxury cars positioned between BMW and Rolls-Royce. It grew from Alpina, a family-owned manufacturer in Buchloe, Germany, that built cars on BMW foundations from 1978 through 2025.
What is the difference between BMW and BMW Alpina?
An Alpina starts as a BMW and gets more power, its own transmission software, its own suspension calibration, 20-spoke wheels and its own interior trim. On the X7, the XB7 makes 631 hp against 523 hp in the M60i.
What is so special about BMW Alpina?
Alpina was a registered German car manufacturer from 1983, building about 2,000 cars in 2021, with final assembly and made-to-order interiors completed in its Buchloe workshops.
Is BMW Alpina like Maybach?
BMW places BMW ALPINA between its own models and Rolls-Royce, the role Mercedes-Maybach plays above Mercedes-Benz models. The first BMW ALPINA model, due in 2027, is inspired by the 7 Series.
Are BMW Alpinas rare?
Alpina built about 2,000 cars in 2021, its best year, across all of its markets. The last XB7s, the 2026 XB7 Manufaktur edition, are limited to 120 cars for the United States and Canada.
Why are Alpinas so expensive?
An Alpina adds a more powerful engine tune, its own chassis and transmission calibration and hand-finished trim to an already expensive BMW. The 2025 XB7 started at $152,400, against $115,000 for the 2027 X7 M60i.
Is Alpina owned by BMW?
BMW bought the Alpina brand rights in March 2022 and has run BMW ALPINA as its own brand since January 1, 2026. The Bovensiepen family company kept its Buchloe service and parts business for existing Alpina cars.
Was the XB7 the first Alpina SUV?
Alpina’s first SUV was the XD3 BiTurbo, shown at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show and sold in Europe. The XB7 was its first SUV for the United States.
Where are Alpina cars built?
Alpinas were finished in Buchloe, Germany, until the XB7, which BMW assembled at Plant Spartanburg in South Carolina. New BMW ALPINA models will be built in selected BMW Group plants.
Will there be a new Alpina SUV?
BMW has announced only the first BMW ALPINA model, inspired by the 7 Series, for 2027. It has named no successor to the XB7.
The manufacturer provided the vehicle, a 2025 BMW Alpina XB7, and it supplied the photography published here. No driving evaluation informed this article.
Michael Kahn
Michael Kahn is the writer, photographer, and publisher behind The Weekly Driver. He cares about how cars drive and what they're like to own. He covers automobile industry news, car shows and events, and new car reviews. The reviews come from behind the wheel: day trips that favor back routes, treating a good meal as half the reason to go. He directs and produces the visual media, matching each car to a setting and mood that fit it. When he's not reviewing new cars, Michael races paddleboards, camels, and ostriches, along with the occasional exotic car on the racetrack, and has driven in every state and country visited.
https://theweeklydriver.com
