While the focus still lingers around the Nordschleife, Alfa Romeo has come forth with a lap time of 7 minutes and 51.7 seconds, set by their Stelvio Quadrifoglio, and one that they claim makes it the quickest production SUV to lap the ‘ring. Not sure why they stuck all that camo on it, though.
Week 39 out the 52 that add up to fill the entirety of 2017 seem to be the window of new Nurburgring lap time record announcements. Earlier, we learned that the 2018 Porsche 911 GT2 RS became the fastest production car to lap the Green Hell, beating the Lamborghini Huracan Performante’s time.
The announcement comes just ahead of the Stelvio’s Australian launch, following a lap run and a time set that was conducted in early September, driven by Fabio Francia, the same driver Alfa Romeo tapped earlier to set the record breaking time (for production saloons) in the Giulia Quadrifoglio - 7 minutes 32 seconds. That record was later beaten
Just like the sedan, the Stelvio shares the 2.9-litre twin-turbocharged F154 V6 engine. Co-developed with Ferrari, this new Alfa powerplant develops 375kW and 600Nm that’s sent rearward after being funnelled through an 8-speed ZF automatic transmission.
Indeed, the Stelvio and Giulia are very closely related, occupying a similar footprint on the road and constructed upon the new Giorgio platform - no wonder, then, that the Stelvio QV posted an equally impressive lap time.
“We specifically engineered and designed the Stelvio Quadrifoglio to set world-class benchmarks and it did not disappoint with a world-record Nürburgring lap time of 7 minutes and 51.7 seconds,” said Reid Bigland, Head of Alfa Romeo. “We’re proud to now hold two Nürburgring lap time records with the Giulia Quadrifoglio as the fastest four-door production sedan and the Stelvio Quadrifoglio as the fastest production SUV.”
For more on Alfa Romeo cars, check out our Showroom.
