TESTED-Who Wins The Battle Between The BMW Alpina B7 And Audi S8?

The S8 was designed and ment to be a "sportier" car, and produces 575hp at the crank which explains its quick times. Alpina's are not so much performance cars. They are a 7 series with added luxury, style, and a more torquey power delivery..kind of like a Mercedes, but BMW is rumored to be developing an M750, which would be an interesting comparison.

And all along I thought Alpina was sport oriented kinda like M and not like the V12 760li, thanks for clearing that up.

Nope, your right with the work "kinda", but not quite. Why would Alpina make a cars that overlap BMW's own in house performance brand? The two have totally different buyers, and approaches to tuning cars. I know someone who has a pre refresh B7 its very luxurious, and more of a individualized piece. They offer custom paint, wheels, and interior options galore..none of which are performance related, and most Alpina’s are actually diesel. Yes they have more power than a 750i, but it in no way is meant to be a "performance car" the way a S8 or even an M variant is. I think both are great cars though IMO, and the S8 is super fast, so you and Gnut don’t have to get your panties up in a bunch.

Yeah, yeah, bmwm6. They're both great cars. Everybody's a winner. But, given the typical BMW enthusiasts' nearly singular emphasis on performance, I've got to ask; which of the two would you rather have?

Well..being "the typical BMW enthusiasts" with a "nearly singular emphasis on performance" I would not buy a car weighing over 4500lbs as my performance car.

Perhaps yo are right about Alpina but vaguely remember the last B5 posting a better lap time than the M5 in some German comparison, of course the RS6 topped both but that's a different story altogether.

@chewy, no it didn't. And you know it didn't. The previous RS6 was generally considered very fast but completely unfun to drive. It was never sold here, and Euro reviews were less than flattering. "Fast, but boring". "Too heavy". Sound familiar? All are claims levied against the current M5, though in addition to those the new M5 has also been called "the best car ever made" by European rags (including Top Gear, who typically hates BMW's, but hey, what do they know? They're only the #1 car review source on earth.) All that may very well change with the upcoming RS6 (reviews of the S6, S7, and S8 lead me to believe that may be). But until then, let's not talk out of our asses. Because the last RS6 definitely didn't meet those criteria.

The S8 is fast, but for me both cars speed seems irrelevant for the real world. I think the highest speed limit in the northeast is 65? On looks alone I like the B7. But two very nice cars none the less.

The speed of most cars (unless they're track driven) is irrelevant as they can easily exceed the speed limits (even in Texas) and outrun zombies. But good acceleration, predictably delivered across a wide power band, is a safety feature in my book and I'll take a healthy helping, please.

MercedesSL, please explain to me how the Audi S8 is not just a regular A8 with added luxury, style, and a more torquey power delivery?

Although BMW doesn't make an in-house 'M7' yet, I don't see how an M7 will be much different than the Alpina B7. It will just be a regular 7-series with some different (sportier) paint and leather options, different rims, and more power.

GermanNut: Agree with you...

All in all, they are both great cars and I still stand that I would prefer in house tuned cars ala S8 than an "official" BMW tuner, but separate company altogether Alpina.

On that alone, I will choose the Audi S8. But if anyone here was offered an Alpina or an S8, I don't think anyone here would decline, which is my point...

I'll take the S63. Thanks.

The real performers for Audi are their RS models. The S models aren't too shabby though.

Hammond from Top Gear did not call the M5 the best car ever made. He claimed that BMW, as a brand, was the best cars ever made.

http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/breakout/bmw-greatest-car-ever-made-says-top-gear-140906756.html

He called the M5 the best all-around car at the time that he tested it. BIG difference. And, it's all subjective since there is not any other road test of the M5 that comes close to agreeing with that sentiment.

http://www.tflcar.com/2012/03/video-watch-bbc-top-gear-season-18-episode-7-as-hammond-reviews-the-new-bmw-m5/

It wasn't Hammond who said the M5 was the best car ever made, it was Jeremy Clarkson, which makes it even more special because he typically hates anything BMW.

the b7 over the s8 only in that purple color... otherwise overall i think the s8 is nicer and better in just about every way..

I was wrong, the Alpina B5 did not post a quicker lap time than the M5, but it did post quicker acceleration.

BUT the RS6 did post a quicker lap time than all others. Source: Autobild Sportcars February 2009.

1. RS6 1:42.94
2. M5 1:43.77
3. E63 AMG 1:44.30
4. B5 S 1:45.94

..and the RS6 had the advantage of about 80 more hp/lb-ft of torque so not much of a supprise there.