The B7 is based on the BMW 745i which has a 4,4-litre V8 producing 333 bhp. The most important change Alpina have made to the engine is fitting a supercharger, which makes the B7 the first supercharged Alpina ever. It produces 500 bhp and has a torque of 700 NM. BMW´s top-of-the-line 7-series, the V12 equipped 760i/Li has 445 bhp and 600 NM. The B7 is more powerful and weighs around 150 kg less. This makes the B7 much more of a driver´s car than the 760i/Li. And of course, even more exclusive.

In March 2003, at the Geneva motorshow, a prototype of the B7 was shown with 470 bhp and 650 Nm. Later in the year, at IAA 2003, the same car was presented with 500 bhp and 700 Nm. This power difference is likely due to the launch of the E60 M5 with 507hp, whose official power output Alpina didn’t want to exceed.

In February 2006, at the Canadian Autoshow, BMW surprisingly announced the launch of the B7 in North America. Please read about the NA-version on a separate page.

The B7 uses a modified version of the 745i engine with 333 bhp, in Alpina´s version it delivers 500 bhp. The main difference between those engines is that the Alpina engine is supercharged.

The gearbox is the same ZF 6-speed automatic as used in the BMW cars. It is modified with strengthened first and second gears, a new torque converter and reprogrammed software. And as always, it also features Switch-Tronic.

The wheels are 21″ with 255/35 tires at front and 295/30 at rear. Behind them, Alpina have fitted larger brakes from the 760Li. The discs measure 374 mm at front and 370 mm at rear.

Inside the B7 is equipped with sport seats in Alpina design leather, new instruments with blue background and red needles, luxury wood “Myrtle”, a hand-stitched leather steering-wheel, Alpina floor mats, Alpina door sills and a silver-plated production plaque. The exterior changes are very subtle, front and rear spoiler lips are fitted, which make the car more stable at speed while maintaining a low CW-value.

For the B7, Alpina claimed a 0-100 km/h time of 4,9 seconds, 5,1 for the Longversion. Although Alpina state the topspeed as 300 km/h, in Auto Motor und Sport´s high-speed test at Nardo the B7 drove an impressive speed of 311 km/h. At a later event, an Alpina customer drove a B7 at 325 km/h.