Alfa Romeo’s Stelvio Quadrifoglio SUV has taken the unofficial lap record at Nürburgring for a sports utility vehicle.
Perhaps Lamborghini may take the crown for the world’s fastest SUV with the Urus, but for now, Alfa Romeo has captured that title.
Piloted by Fabio Francia, the Stelvio lapped the ‘Green Hell’ in just 7 minutes and 51.7 seconds, smashing the previous record for a SUV, which was first held by the Range Rover Sport SVR (8:14) before the previous generation Porsche Cayenne Turbo S (7:59.74) bettered that.
The Stelvio’s time matches that of BMW M4, although it’s not as quick as the world’s fastest front-wheel drive model, the Honda Civic Type R (7:43.8).
“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.”
The Stelvio Quadrofoglio is powered by a 2.9-liter twin-turbo intercooled V6 engine, producing 375 kW and 600 N.m, that works together with the standard Q4 all-wheel-drive system allowing the SUV to hit 96km/h in 3.9 seconds and top out at 285km/h.
The Stelvio is expected to launch in South Africa in the first half of 2018.