Alpina B7 Bi-Turbo – Alpina’s take on the BMW 7 Series – hits the UK. Costs £115,000

The Alpina B7 Bi-Turbo, Alpina’s performance take on the new BMW 7 Series, goes on sale in the UK at £115,000 sporting 600bhp and 0-60mph in 4.0 seconds.

If you want a bespoke BMW, Alpina has always been top of that game, and the new Alpina B7 Bi-Turbo, which is now available in the UK, delivers the sort of 7 Series you just can’t get from BMW.

It means a performance 7 Series with similar power and performance to BMW’s flagship V12 7 Series, but here courtesy of Alpina’s tweaking of BMW’s 4.4 litre V8.

It delivers a mighty 600bhp and 590lb/ft of torque – thanks to Alpina tweaks like a wide-bore intake system and uprated pistons – enough to put the B7 within a whisker of BMW’s 760 but with a performance edge.

All the extra power is enough to send the B7 to 60mph in 4.0 seconds and on to the rarefied realms of 200mph four-door saloons with a top speed of 205mph.

The B7 is actually rear-wheel drive (we had expected a four-wheel drive version too) and the power is delivered through a modified eight-speed ZF auto ‘box with steering wheel shift buttons.

All the UK B7s will be LWB and come with air suspension, modified rear-wheel steering, tweaked steering and traction control, 20″ Alpina alloys, an understated Alpina body kit, and an interior with high-end Nappa leather covering much of what you touch, ceramic switches, soft close doors, heads-up and a numbered plaque.

The price for exclusivity is that the Alpina B7 starts at £115,000 (although that actually undercuts BMW’s 760Li) and there will be just a small number available in the UK.