Story by Ash Ayman Shairzay
Photography by David Lewis Taylor

Since the late 80s, BMW’s high-performance machines, otherwise known as M, were once limited to the 3 and 5 Series. Visit a BMW dealership over the last few years and you would have been able to drive away four more “barely street-legal vehicles” – the M6, X5 M, X6 M, and until this year, the Z3/Z4 M. Conspicuously absent all this time, however, has been an M package for the flagship 7 Series.

Enter ALPINA. Now in its fourth generation, the 2011 ALPINA B7 takes the 750i and 750Li (and their xDrive variations) to the fringes of performance and exclusivity.

ALPINA adds twin turbos and a slew of mechanical upgrades we barely understand to the 4.4-litre BMW V8 to achieve 500 horsepower, a 174 mph electronically limited top speed, and a sub 5-second 0-60 time.

Visually, the classic ALPINA design touches are all to be found: ALPINA blue paint, 21” rims with more spokes than we could count, and the glossiest piano black interior trim you’ll ever see. We took special note of the modernly illuminated door sills and the steering wheel's blue and green contrast stitching – both details demonstrating immaculate attention to detail representative of the ALPINA brand.

But the pièce de résistance has to be the lavalina leather hides. According to ALPINA, lavalina leather is rarely found in automobiles because it is considered too luxurious. Imagine that! The hides are selected from premium south German cattle, and undergo a rigorous treatment to achieve silky smooth surfaces and rich colors exhibiting the refinement and beauty of a life worth celebrating.

bmwusa.com
alpine-automobiles.com