Audi Q9 isn't out yet, and BMW is already going bigger than the X7 — and pricier than the Escalade

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BMW may be working on the biggest SUV in its history. SPEEDME has spotted a fresh Alpina XB9 trademark application at the German DPMA office — and it sounds less like another X7 variant and more like a model a class above.

Alpina's naming logic is usually transparent. The B stands for a gasoline model, the X points to BMW's crossover line, and the digit 9 is what makes things interesting: there is no production BMW X9 yet. That is exactly why the XB9 filing has fuelled talk of a large SUV that would sit above the X7.

BMW has been eyeing this segment for years. In the United States, dealers want a model bigger than the X7, capable of taking on the Cadillac Escalade and Lincoln Navigator. The top X7 currently sells for under 130,000 dollars, the Alpina XB7 starts just above 150,000 dollars, and the Cadillac Escalade V crosses the 170,000-dollar mark. For BMW, that is far too fat a slice of the market to keep watching from the sidelines.

There is a second signal too. China's Xpeng filed for the X9 trademark in Germany in October 2025, and BMW opposed it in January, arguing that buyers could be confused. On its own that proves nothing, but combined with the Alpina XB9 filing it no longer looks like a coincidence.

Technically, BMW has options. A large SUV could be built on a modified X7 platform and assembled in South Carolina, where the brand's US-focused models are made. Another route would be to lean on the Rolls-Royce Cullinan playbook: its architecture rides on a wheelbase nearly 20 cm longer than the X7's.

It is important not to mistake a filing for a finished launch — a trademark does not guarantee a production model. But the timing is sharp. Audi is preparing the Q9, the Escalade has held its crown as king of huge luxury SUVs for almost 30 years, and Alpina, now under BMW control, could become more than a tuner — a separate, expensive weapon.

If the XB9 really does arrive, it won't be «just another big BMW». It will be an attempt to break into a space where size has long sold every bit as well as power. Meanwhile, SPEEDME reported just days ago that the company announced the debut of a new concept in the coming days.