A camouflaged BMW Alpina sedan has reportedly gone beyond 186 mph, or 300 km/h, during high-speed testing at the Nardo Ring in Italy, and the brand’s first new car in years carries a V8. Alpina released a few photos and a teaser clip rather than a spec sheet, so the speed comes from reports around the test and not from a published figure. Autoblog calls the car the new B7.
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The prototype is clearly a facelifted 7 Series, wearing Alpina’s multi-spoke wheels, a glimpse of Alpina Green paint and four oval exhaust tips. Output has not been confirmed, but a number briefly visible in Alpina’s teaser video suggests a car more powerful than the M760 that BMW itself will sell. Everything about the model name, final power and debut timing remains an expectation until Alpina says otherwise.
Nardo Ring testing and what was reported
Autoblog’s report on the B7 says Alpina took its first new model in years to the Nardo Ring and managed to push the car beyond 186 mph. The exact top speed was not published. BMWBlog’s first official look adds that the prototype was undergoing high-speed validation at the Nardo technical center, whose circuit runs 12.6 kilometers, and that BMW has not formally identified the car. It remains camouflaged and carries the internal code G72, according to that report.
BMWBlog described how BMW pitches the project under the phrase “Speed, not Sport,” which it read as a signal that Alpina is not chasing Nurburgring lap records, a job that belongs to BMW M. The stated goal is a grand tourer that covers long distances quickly while isolating passengers from the outside world. BMW said the V8 received special engine management calibration and accelerator mapping for smooth delivery, and that the body was shaped aerodynamically for three-digit speeds.
The 439 kW teaser and the 4.4-liter twin-turbo V8
The power claim rests on a frame in Alpina’s teaser in which a windshield projection briefly showed 439 kW and 784 Nm. That converts to about 589 horsepower and 578 pound-feet. BMWBlog cautioned that the numbers came from a development prototype and may not be final, while Autoblog said output could end up higher. For comparison, BMWBlog’s teaser coverage lists the 2027 M760 xDrive’s S68 engine at 420 kW, or 571 PS, which Autoblog rounds to 563 horsepower in its own comparison.
The engine is likely the 4.4-liter twin-turbo V8 used across much of the BMW range, and Autoblog understands that it has no electrification. Alpina confirmed a V8 on social media in October, calling it the basis of the brand’s driving character with supreme composure as a key trait. BMWBlog’s October report says Alpina chief Oliver Viellechner reportedly said that a pure V8 without a plug-in system would sit at the center of the lineup. No V12 is planned, and a plug-in hybrid is considered unlikely.
A B7 name, a 2027 debut and Alpina’s place under BMW
The badge is the least settled detail. Alpina officially adopted the B7 name during the E65 7 Series era, and the old G12-generation B7 used an N63 V8 that made 600 horsepower and 590 pound-feet. BMWBlog’s author expects the new car may drop the B7 designation in favor of Alpina lettering on the trunk and something like a 760 designation, though nothing is confirmed. Autoblog uses B7 throughout, and the filenames on the photos reference a 2028 model, which the report does not confirm.
BMW has confirmed that the first car of the revived brand arrives next year. In May 2026 it announced, in a release covered by BMWBlog, that customers would be able to experience the first model of the BMW Alpina brand in 2027, describing it as inspired by the 7 Series but unmistakably Alpina. Viellechner has described the brand as filling a gap between BMW and Rolls-Royce, and BMWBlog’s debut estimate is spring 2027, with pricing not yet announced.
The lineage gives the V8 context. Autoblog traces Alpina’s flagship sedans back to the B11 3.5 on the E32 7 Series, followed by the B11 4.0 and the V12-powered B12 5.0 from the same period, and later the B12 5.7 and B12 6.0 on the E38 generation. Alpina has been away from the 7 Series for a couple of years and has not worked on the current generation before, so this prototype is the first test of what a BMW-owned Alpina does with the car. Autoblog also notes the road car may look less dramatic than the Vision BMW Alpina concept shown a couple of months earlier.
The open questions are the ones a spec sheet would settle: whether 439 kW is the production rating, whether the 186 mph run was a limiter-governed top speed or an unrestricted maximum, and whether the car wears the B7 badge at all. Autoblog said the exact speed was not published, and neither Alpina nor BMW has put a final output number in writing.
This article was produced with the assistance of AI and reviewed by Morning Overview editors prior to publication.
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