BMW unveiled the facelifted X7 in April this year and literally mere hours later, Alpina introduced its version of the large SUV. The XB7 was given the same split headlight face as the donor vehicle and now the performance family hauler gets even more power. There’s a new announcement coming from Buchloe and there are a few points inside worth talking about.

First and foremost – the design of the front fascia remains virtually unchanged meaning there’s a pair of split headlights surrounding the massive kidney grilles. The grilles are illuminated and there’s an available waterfall light function, which can be also activated during driving. Unique Alpina aprons give the SUV a very aggressive look and at the back, there’s a pair of redesigned exhaust pipes integrated neatly into the bumper.

The big utility sits on standard 21-inch wheels wrapped in 285/45R21 tires front and rear. There’s an optional set of 23-inch alloys with an Alpina Classic 20-spoke design finished in Anthracite. The German automaker has cooperated with Pirelli for a set of special performance summer tires measuring 285/35R23 at the front and 325/35R23 at the back. Four-piston brake calipers from Brembo hide behind the wheels at the front.

Under the hood, the XB7 gets BMW’s new 4.4-liter twin-turbo V8 (S68) with mild-hybrid technology. After extensive modifications by the engineers from Alpina, the mill now develops 630 horsepower (470 kilowatts), up from the previously announced 621 hp (457 kW). The peak torque remains unchanged at 590-pound-feet (800 Newton-meters), available from as low as 1,800 rpm all the way to 5,600 rpm. The power reaches all four wheels through an eight-speed automatic gearbox with steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters. 

This powerful setup ensures the large SUV can accelerate from a standstill to 60 miles per hour (0-96 kilometers per hour) in just 3.9 seconds, while the top speed is 180 mph (290 kph). The classic quarter-mile sprint takes 12.4 seconds. 

The XB7 comes with hardware that ensures the vehicle remains stable in corners. It includes an intelligent xDrive all-wheel-drive system and an electronically-variable limited-slip differential. The degree of lock is continuously adjusted depending on many factors, such as wheel speed, friction coefficients, and steering angle. 

The highlight inside the cabin is the latest generation of BMW’s iDrive infotainment system, which comes with an improved voice control function and a higher degree of available personalization. In the safety department, there’s a new system that uses GPS data and the trajectory data registered from previous steering inputs to record and store up to ten different parking maneuvers. 

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