Alpina B7: 500 PS für den 7er

Alpina at the IAA offers the necessary power for power-hungry fans of the 7 series-BMW: 500 hp from a supercharged V8-motor. In the luxury class the BMW driver is left empty-handed compared to Mercedes in terms of pure power. The top of the range 7-series, the 760i with V12-Motor, has only 445 hp, whilst the 12 cylinder in the Mercedes S 600 has 500 hp. But now BMW-Tuner Alpina from Buchloe in the Allgäu, Germany brings the 7-Series at least on par with the S 600 from its Swabian rivals: The IAA presentation of the B7 produces also 500hp; not from 12 Cylinders but from a V8.. 21 inch aluminum alloys are part of the equipment. The performance speaks for itself: zero to 62mph in less than 5.5 seconds, 188 mph top speed. Background: The V8 is 150 kilogram lighter as the V12, which positively affects the power to weight ratio of the car. Alpina provides the 4.4-Liter-V8 from BMW with a so called radial compressor, which is similar to a mechanical compressor driven by a belt from the crankshaft. The supercharger produces its power starting only from a particular butterfly valve position. If little acceleration is given, the supercharger remains inactive, thereby reducing fuel consumption to a minimum. If however one accelerates somewhat harder, the supercharger can deliver up to 0.8 bar boost into the combustion chamber, which flows beforehand through an enormous intercooler. The cabin is in a typical Alpina style and has even greater quality than the standard 7-Series. The complicated control of the supercharged V8 engine is to ensure that it feels like a very large capacity normally aspirated engine. The maximum Torque is rated 700 Nm at 4250revs/min. The engine is coupled to a six-speed automatic gearbox. According to Alpina, the B7 achieves the sprint from zero to 62mph in less than 5.5 seconds and has a top speed of 188mph. Production is planned from March 2004. List price is around 111000 Euro ($96000).

Auto Motor Sport 09/2003