Alpina is a German car company. Even in car circles, that's rare knowledge. Some people think the firm is owned by BMW, because you can walk into an American BMW dealer and order a car with an Alpina badge on the trunk. Most have no idea that the company–a German tuner–once built the fastest four-door on earth (1979 B7 Turbo, based on a 5-series, 155 mph). Or that its founding family, the the Bovensiepens, initially made typewriters. (Less sexy than 155 mph, but hey, whip that out the next time you need bar trivia.)

Alpina is not part of BMW, but for the past 14 years, BMW has sold and helped market a handful of Alpina cars in America. The brand is based in Buchloe, roughly an hour outside of Munich, where it employs 230 people and generally serves as the rowdiest spot in a wonderfully dinky village. (Once, over dinner with an Alpina product planner, I asked about town life. "Well," he said, sighing, "there is a train station.")

BMW

From this environment comes a line of sport sedans so extensively modified that the German government recognizes Alpina as a standalone manufacturer. Also a competition department that once had F1 legend Niki Lauda on the payroll. In build-your-own-car circles, it gets no more legit.

Which brings us to the 2017 B7. At $137,995 and 600 hp, this is the most powerful 7-series on the market. The B7 costs almost $40,000 more than the 750i xDrive upon which it is based, but it also makes 155 more horsepower and 110 more pounds-feet of torque. Those numbers accompany a host of changes—everything from new turbos and pistons for the car's 4.4-liter V-8 to an uprated gearbox and new brakes. The 750i's air suspension, active dampers, and active anti-roll bars are all present but returned. It's all topped off with an interior retire that makes an ordinary 7-series look like hobo underwear.

The press drive we attended consisted of a few laps at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca and zero miles on public roads. Which means I can offer only a few impressions: No 4850-pound, all-wheel-drive sedan should turn like this. The cabin is a jewel box. The eight-speed ZF automatic usually does what you want, and the engine is both quiet and linear, with little perceptible lag. Alpina's suspension tune is happily middle of the road; for a porker with enough grip to wrinkle asphalt, the B7 is surprisingly comfortable. It also lands the big-car magic trick of never feeling ponderous, even when you're hucking into Laguna's Corkscrew with two wheels in the dirt. (Incidentally, hysterical things you can do with a German luxobarge: this.)

BMW

Alpina's CEO is a former DTM driver named Andy Bovensiepen. "Our products aren't for the person who wants to prove every day that they're the fastest," he told me. "You could maybe have more direct steering or a more aggressive suspension, but that doesn't make it relaxing, because you have to concentrate more." This probably explains the showroom-sharing, because the products of BMW's own M division are more nervy, aimed at a different driver. "We want you to be able to go down the autobahn at 193 mph"—the car's claimed top speed—"not fighting the car."

The last B7 was built from 2009 to 2015. Just 1740 examples were sold here. If this one moves more than that, I'll buy a Tyrolean hat just to eat the thing. But screw it: That engine is a cruise missile, and the chassis is killer, all of a piece. This is tasteful, well-done work with a purpose. With tuned cars, that's rare enough to be its own reason.

2017 BMW Alpina B7 xDrive

Price: $137,995

Powertrain: 4.4-liter twin- turbo v-8, 600 hp, 590 lb-ft; awd, 8-speed automatic

Weight: 4850 lb

On Sale: now

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