Sad news for lovers of off-beat ultra-limousines: Alpina’s big, ballistic and (up until recently) beautiful B7 is no more. Its end comes at roughly the same time as the current set of nostrils with a 7 Series attached, just ahead of the upcoming... well, it’s a 7 Series. Words rather fail us after that point. So here are some of Alpina's.

"Few BMW models have been such a perfect fit for the Alpina philosophy: innovative, luxurious, comfortable, yet extremely high performance, without ever being obtrusive," the company said in a statement. "It’s no wonder that Alpina founder Burkard Bovensiepen embraced this model series with such enthusiasm when the first BMW 7 Series automobile was launched in 1977, and that it provided the inspiration for such outstanding BMW Alpina models over six model generations.

"With the latest change in the BMW G11/12 series to the G70 generation, the era of the BMW Alpina B7 is coming to an end in the Alpina automobile manufactory."

Alpina-tuned 7 Series have been around since the E32 of the late Eighties, but the car person’s car company apparently won’t be turning its hand to the upcoming G70 generation. Whether that’s due to BMW buying Alpina a few months ago and now calling the shots – or that even Alpina found itself unable to polish such a tur... er, bold design – is one we can only speculate about.

Such speculation, we’re unhappy to say, also surrounds the future of Alpina itself. If Alpina is the uncannily fast, unimpeachably luxurious and under-the-radar Beemer – and in our mind, it absolutely is – why would BMW not let it loose on its most luxurious, (up until recently) under-the-radar offering? We can’t say for sure, but we’re really hoping it’s not sad news.

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