BMW ALPINA Teases The V8 Sound Of Its New 7 Series. Our Rendering Shows What It Could Look Like

BMW ALPINA has posted a short Instagram clip of the upcoming ALPINA 7 Series that shows the car’s quad tailpipes and plays the sound of its V8. Everything points to the S68 4.4-liter twin-turbo V8, the same engine BMW just brought back to the 7 Series in the 2027 M760 xDrive. ALPINA has been showing this car in pieces all year. Previous Instagrams teaser showed us a reworked version of the brand’s elliptical quad exhaust set inside a new sculpted finisher. In October, ALPINA posted an image of a V8 with a caption saying the engine lays the foundation for the brand’s driving character. This time we get to hear it.

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It’s also the first car of the new ALPINA. BMW took over the ALPINA brand on January 1, 2026, ending six decades in which ALPINA worked on BMWs as an independent company in Buchloe. The 7 Series will be the first ALPINA built entirely by BMW, and the brand now sits above the regular BMW lineup, with the Mercedes-Maybach S-Class as its obvious target.

Why The S68 V8 Is The Obvious Engine For The ALPINA 7 Series

BMW revealed the M760 xDrive in October with an evolution of the S68 V8 rated at 420 kW (571 PS) in Europe, or roughly 563 hp, and a 0-60 mph time of 3.5 seconds. Unlike the outgoing 760i, which was never offered in Europe, the M760 will be sold there too, and it arrives in 2027. It’s the natural donor for ALPINA’s car.

We expect the ALPINA to chase a bigger number than the M760. How much more? We’re betting it would get close to the 600 horsepower mark, yet still expect the brand’s tunes which have always been about torque low in the rev range and a calm ride at speed. The G12 ALPINA B7 used the N63 4.4-liter twin-turbo V8 with 600 hp and 590 lb-ft from 2,000 rpm, and it went out of production in September 2022. There won’t be a V12 though, even though the Maybach S-Class still offers one. BMW is keeping that engine for Rolls-Royce. An electric ALPINA 7 Series based on the i7 M70 is likely to follow later, which would be a first for the brand.

What Our Rendering Of The ALPINA 7 Series Shows

We rendered the car based on the spy photos and this teaser video, and the most obvious change is up front. The daytime running lights are yellow, a detail that showed up on the prototypes in the spy video we published last week. The kidney grille uses a different design from the regular 7 Series, and below it sits a new front splitter with ALPINA lettering across it. That last detail comes straight from the Vision BMW ALPINA concept, which wore machined, polished ALPINA lettering on its lower front apron. At the back, a new rear diffuser frames four oval tailpipes, the shape ALPINA has used for years and the one BMW kept when it updated the exhaust design in March.

Beyond those changes, the prototypes look like a regular facelifted 7 Series, two-section headlights included, and they don’t appear any longer than the standard car. That’s how ALPINA has always worked: new bumpers, exhaust and wheels, with the sheetmetal left alone. We also wouldn’t expect much from the concept’s shark-nose front end to reach production. As we reported in July, the design of the production car was largely finished before the concept was revealed.

Will The New ALPINA 7 Series Still Be Called B7?

Probably not. We expect BMW to drop the B7 name and put ALPINA lettering on the trunk lid, followed by a model designation along the lines of 760, though BMW hasn’t confirmed either. BMW has already hinted at the first part: when it relaunched the brand in January, it showed a new ALPINA wordmark centered on the rear of the car, based on the asymmetrical lettering ALPINA used in the 1970s. The SUVs may keep the old naming pattern, though. BMW filed trademarks for XB3, XB6 and XB8 earlier this year, so the sedan could end up as the odd one out.

If it does become an ALPINA 760, the badge would at least make the pecking order easy to read next to the M760 xDrive. We’d still miss the B7 name.

A Neue Klasse Cabin With Vision BMW ALPINA Touches

Inside, expect the Neue Klasse design the 7 Series got with its facelift in April: BMW Panoramic iDrive running BMW Operating System X, a 17.9-inch Central Display, and a standard 14.6-inch Passenger Screen. ALPINA should add some of the unique cues from the Vision BMW ALPINA concept revealed at Villa d’Este in May. The concept had full-grain leather from producers in the Alpine region, blue and green accents with bridge stitching inspired by old ALPINA steering wheels, crystal controls, and the Comfort+ setting, a softer tune that goes beyond BMW’s own Comfort mode.

ALPINA Blue and ALPINA Green will likely be standard colors. BMW will most likely add new shades on top of those, plus an Individual program for buyers who want a color no other ALPINA wears.

When Will BMW Reveal The ALPINA 7 Series, And How Much Will It Cost?

BMW has said the first ALPINA production model arrives in 2027, and we expect the 7 Series reveal in spring 2027. An ALPINA version of the next-generation X7 is due about a year after the sedan. BMW hasn’t announced pricing. The ALPINA will sit above the M760 xDrive and below the Rolls-Royce Ghost. Oliver Viellechner, head of BMW ALPINA, said when the concept debuted that “BMW ALPINA fills a gap in our portfolio between BMW and Rolls-Royce.” The 7 Series is the car that has to show how big that gap is.