Three of 2,800 – CarMax Stockpiles Alpina XB7’s (I Didn’t Know There Even Was an XB7!)

A few months ago, I found the 2022 Alpina XB7 unicorn below on the CarMax website, the first I’ve seen on my favorite used car lot website. Bookmarked it, and it vanished for a long, long time…until today. It has been on reserve, and it’s now available. I did some digging and found that BMW launched the Alpina version of this full-size X7 SUV, known as the XB7, back in 2020. It has sold a couple of hundred units every year in the USA and abroad – all made in Spartanburg, South Carolina. So far, 2,800 units through 2024. I’ve never seen one on the road. Poked around on the CarMax page a little more, and found they have three of these Alpina XB7’s! Unlike the Alpina B6’s and B7’s I’ve posted before, the XB7 is not identified as a separate model from its X7 counterparts; it’s there under “Trim”, like the X7 M50i or X7 M60. And even then, it’s listed as a BMW X7 Alpina, and not an XB7 as it’s officially named by BMW. It’s on the rear hatch. Let’s go to the vehicles.

Going to lump these three together since they are nearly identical, except for some pricey options, and a huge $20,000 gap in price between the least and most expensive, even though they’re only a year apart. The 2022 is listed at $86,998, the middle 2021 for $73,998, and the bottom 2021 is “only” $67,998. The SUV’s sold new for $140-150,000 just three or four years ago. Depreciation is your friend here. You could easily drop $68k on a three-row Suburban or Escalade and not get this level of Alpina performance or panache.

The interiors of all three XB7’s are nearly identical, and all well equipped, and in fact are also indistinguishable from the base X7. The Alpinas get a logo on the steering wheel, some different looks in the driver’s dashboard screen, and buttons instead of paddles for quick shifting. All three get automated cruise control, heated, cooling, and massaging seats, Apple CarPlay, heads-up display, heated steering wheels, and all the latest and greatest safety and technology features. All three get a 10 out of 10 as “loaded” models. I’d agree.

Yes, the shifter in the Alpina is crystal. It doubles as a wine stopper. Not.

The back seat is where the differences happen. The $87k and $68k XB7’s have the $850 optional rear captain’s chairs, and only the middle one ($74k) has the $2,200 optional rear entertainment system. Wonder if it wasn’t possible to have both? Another distinction is that the two most expensive XB7’s have the base Harman Kardon audio system, and the “cheap” one has the $3,400 optional Bowers & Wilkins audio. I’m liking the $68k one more and more.

Third-row seats below in all three look nice and likely suck for grown-ups.

The Alpina XB7 matters most in performance over the regular X7’s. Alpinas are not as bawdy as true “M” models, keeping some of the luxury ride you get in a normal six-cylinder X7 and even the V-8 powered X7 M50i. With larger turbos in the 4.4 liter motor, a less restrictive exhaust, and transmission tweaks, the Alpina pumps up power from 523 horsepower in the M50i to 612 in the XB7. Acceleration drops from 4.1 seconds to 3.7 (about the same as, ahem, a 2021 GLE63 AMG?), and the governed top speed leaps from 124 mph to a claimed 180 mph. From a nearly three-ton, three-row AWD SUV.

An awesome sound. Car and Driver says it’s a reasonable 77db cruising….until you do this.

Engine bay shots are obligatory. Identical triplets….almost. One of these is not like the other and I dare you to find the CarMax lapse in one of them!

Let’s wrap up the discussion of the three with a little bit of info on each, and then a much cheaper alternative at the bottom!

The 2022 Alpina XB7 above is a three-owner car on paper, although the first was a dealer. It has 24,000 miles and appears to still be under the manufacturer’s warranty, but not for long. It’s currently available in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Here’s the link if you want to track it.

StockNo: 26601185 VIN: 5UXCX6C17N9M88445

The middle-of-the-road 2021 Alpina XB7 is available in Palmdale, California. Here’s the link. It’s a one-owner car, always in Burbank.

StockNo: 27622632 VIN: 5UXCX6C1XM9E24076

The “bargain” 2021 Alpina XB7 is coming soon to Charlotte, North Carolina. Here’s the link. It was a two-owner vehicle, originally from Vegas and Montana, until it made its way east. I highly recommend MaxCare for this, which should be available up to 125,000 odometer miles – about 87,000 more.

I’ve been haggling with the CarMax website bot for the last half an hour, trying to get the MaxCare cost and terms. It claims it turned me over to an agent, who claims MaxCare is $2,200 for five years, 150,000 miles. That’s total bullshit. CarMax doesn’t go past 125,000 miles on European cars, and the price is likely $7-8,000. I pushed back, and now the “agent” says I can’t get the price until I create a build order. Untrue. I’ve gotten them before. Either inexperienced, a bot, or dishonest. I suspect they’ll disconnect me. If I get it, I’ll update.

StockNo: 27781382 VIN: 5UXCX6C19M9G48424

BONUS CAR BELOW!

For a whole lot less money, you can get a 2020 BMW X7 M50i, with low miles, and still very impressive performance and luxury. As we noted above, the X7 M50i rushes to 60 in just over four seconds. Yeah, top speed is only 124 mph. Does that matter outside of track day?

The interior is the same as the XB7, although the seats don’t have the quilted stitch. It still has heated, cooling, and massaging seats, a heated steering wheel, heads up display, Apple CarPlay, the executive, driver’s assistance, and premium packages, and automated parking! This is a very nice SUV.

Same 4.4-liter twin-turbo motor above. The 2020 BMW X7 M50i was a $100,000 SUV new, and is now half that. Low miles. It’s a three-owner, accident-free California car. At only $50,998, you can add MaxCare, even if it’s $8,000, and be out the door for less than the Alpinas. You won’t have the performance or exclusivity, but if money matters, you’ll have a helluva sleeper SUV. Track it here in Austin, Texas.

StockNo: 27738749 VIN: 5UXCX6C0XLLE35345