BMW is marking the end of an era with the ALPINA XB7 Manufaktur, a final edition limited to 120 cars that will be sold exclusively in the United States and Canada. Production begins in September, with deliveries expected in the fourth quarter, and the model carries a starting price of $180,000 plus $1,550 destination.
The Manufaktur is the last XB7 developed and approved before BMW's acquisition of the ALPINA name took effect on 1 January 2026. It is also the final ALPINA the Bovensiepen family signed off for this market, even though the vehicle is assembled at BMW's Spartanburg plant rather than the company's traditional home in Buchloe. That detail carries its own significance: the XB7 was the first ALPINA ever completed outside Buchloe when production started in 2020.
There is no configurator in the conventional sense. Buyers face a single fixed, fully loaded specification and one decision: Frozen ALPINA Green or Frozen ALPINA Blue, neither of which has previously been offered on an XB7. Silver trim is replaced by gloss black, including the 23-inch ALPINA Classic wheels, while a double pinstripe runs down each flank and Manufaktur badges appear on the B-pillars and tailgate. Inside, there is a numbered plaque, headrest embroidery matched to the paint, and two handmade weekender bags in brown Lavalina leather in the boot.
Mechanically, the package is unchanged. The 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8 continues to produce 631 hp and 590 lb-ft, driving through an eight-speed gearbox with ALPINA Switch-Tronic. BMW still quotes 3.9 seconds to 60 mph. The air suspension is ALPINA-tuned at both axles, with electromechanical anti-roll bars, rear-axle steering and a Sport mode that lowers the body by up to 1.4 inches. It will also tow 7,500 pounds, a figure rarely associated with four-second vehicles.
The XB7 has occupied a particular niche since BMW never built an X7 M. For six years it filled that gap in a way the M division probably would not have, adding torque and ride quality rather than chasing lap times in a 6,000-pound seven-seater. That formula, which ALPINA had followed since the E38 B12, disappears from the price list after these 120 cars.
The next-generation G67 X7 will see the ALPINA version split off under its own G69 code, signalling a wider gap between the two models and, almost certainly, a larger price gap. It is also rumoured to arrive as an ALPINA X7 electric.
The cabin is where the change may be felt most. The current XB7 is not a button festival, and the G07 facelift already moved climate control into the touchscreen, leaving defroster switches, a volume knob and a curved display running Operating System 8.5. But a physical iDrive rotary controller with shortcut keys survives on the console, alongside a 12.3-inch instrument cluster in a binnacle in front of the driver and Switch-Tronic paddles. The layout is angled at one seat.
The G67 is expected to undo much of that. Panoramic iDrive replaces the cluster across new BMWs with a projection running the width of the windscreen, the central touchscreen grows, and the rotary controller is expected to disappear. BMW is also pushing the X7 towards 7 Series territory with automatic doors and a rear entertainment system. A passenger display has not been confirmed for the SUV, but the updated 7 Series offers one as standard, and the X7 sits in the part of the line-up where that feature lands.
ALPINA now becomes a BMW sub-brand aimed at Mercedes-Maybach, with its first BMW-era model due in 2027 on the 7 Series. Buchloe is still building cars: Andreas and Florian Bovensiepen run Bovensiepen, whose Zagato coupe produces 611 hp, is limited to 99 units and costs €369,495.
On paper, the Manufaktur's $181,550 price is hard to justify. A fully loaded XM Label costs about $12,400 less and offers more power, and the premium over the standard XB7's $156,000 sticker buys matte paint, black trim, a plaque and luggage. Yet the XM Label is a car people argue about, while the XB7 is one almost nobody does. Six years, no controversy, no reinvention, no apology. What buyers are really paying for is the end of a comparison: the G69 will be measured against a Maybach GLS, while this one only ever had to beat the X7 M that BMW never built.