Alfa Romeo says that its Stelvio Quadrifoglio has claimed the unofficial lap record for production SUVs at the Nürburgring.
The Italian brand says its Stelvio Quadrifoglio lapped the 20,8 km Nordschleife in a time of 7 minutes 51,7 seconds – a whopping eight seconds faster than the Porsche Cayenne Turbo S that held the previous record.
The man behind the wheel was Fabio Francia, the same driver who set the record for the fastest four-door sedan in the world on the Nürburgring with the Giulia Quadrifoglio (7 minutes 32 seconds).
Alfa puts the record down to the Stelvio Quadrifoglio’s “perfect” weight distribution, “segment-leading” torsional rigidity, “class-exclusive” carbon-fibre driveshaft and “the most direct steering available”.
Of course, the Ferrari-developed 2,9-litre twin-turbo V6 under the bonnet – again, shared with the Giulia QV – certainly helped too, delivering 375 kW and 600 N.m all four corners via an eight-speed automatic transmission.
Expect the Stelvio to launch in South Africa in the first half of 2018.
Watch the record lap below…
