If any slightly cliched phrase sums up Alpina’s cars, it’s: ‘if you know, you know.’ What looks to most onlookers like a normal BMW with some funny pinstripes will almost always garner a knowing nod from enthusiasts, blending M car pace with luxury, subtlety and some of the best-designed wheels in the business.
Now, there’s an opportunity to own one of the rarest Alpinas of all, and arguably the ultimate expression of the brand’s core tenets of performance and luxury.
Alpina B7L – interior
Alpina produced tweaked versions of the BMW 7-series from the original E23 incarnation until the recently-replaced G11 generation, but it was in 2003, with its take on the controversial Chris Bangle-styled E65 7-series, that the company introduced the B7 name.
The top of the regular E65 range, the 760i, had a 439bhp V12, but to create the B7, Alpina took the 745i’s 4.4-litre V8 and whacked a big supercharger on it. In combination with a forged crankshaft and high-strength pistons, this upped power to 493bhp, more than pretty much any other big exec limo of the time.
Alpina B7L – engine bay
More power and less weight meant it would comfortably outhandle and outdrag its mass-produced, V12-powered counterpart: Alpina’s figures put the 0-62 time at around five seconds and top speed at 186mph, versus 5.5 seconds and an electronically-limited 155mph for the 760i.
It’s hard to pin down an exact production number, but the E65 B7 isn’t exactly an everyday sighting. What we have here, however, isn’t an E65. It’s an E66, which means it uses the long-wheelbase 7-series as its base. This is a real rarity, thought to be one of only two right-hand drive E66 Alpinas built, and it may well be the only surviving example.
Alpina B7L – detail
Originally sold in Japan in 2008, this B7L (to give it its proper name) was shipped over to the UK in 2022 and has lived with an enthusiastic Alpina collector since then. All the Alpina hallmarks are there: strong but classy colour topped off with gold pinstripes, subtle body kit, half a maple tree in the interior and those gorgeous multispoke alloys.
According to the ad, it’s only been used by its current owner during warm months, and as a Japanese car, it won’t have been troubled by salt for most of its life. Its odometer sits on 70,320km, which is a shade under 43,700 miles. It’s also had two advisory-free MOT tests since arriving in the UK, although its fully stamped service book was apparently lost in transit when it was imported.
Alpina B7L – rear
If you want to own a quite possibly unique vehicle from one of the coolest brands around, the B7L is currently up for auction with Car and Classic. At the time of writing, the highest bid is £20,000, but you can pretty much guarantee that that’s going to climb and climb before the auction ends on 9 February. Still, it’s probably worth it for a one-of-a-kind car and arguably the closest thing there’s ever been to a BMW M7.
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