► Alfa Romeo Stelvio Ring record
► Fastest SUV round Nurburgring
► Lap time of 7min 51.7sec
Hold on to your hats! And your stomachs, and luggage… Alfa Romeo has claimed a new lap record of the Nurburgring in its new Stelvio crossover.
Yes, the world must have gone mad when car manufacturers chase such niches – but that’s what Turin has gone and done.
How fast was the Alfa Romeo Stelvio around the Nordschleife?
The Stelvio Quadrifoglio set an eye-opening 7 minute 51.7 second laptime around the Nurburgring, making it the fastest production SUV ever around the 12.9-mile circuit.
It was driven by Fabio Francia, the same racer who set another Ring record in the Giulia QF in a time of 7min 32sec. Yes, the SUV was only 20 seconds slower than its four-door brethren…
The Stelvio beat the previous SUV record set by the Range Rover Sport SVR by eight seconds; thank the twin-turbo 2.9-litre V6 developing 503bhp and 443lb ft of torque and the ceramic Brembo brakes, which must’ve taken quite a punishing hauling this 4×4 down from its lofty 177mph top speed.
It’s been quite a week for Ring records: earlier Porsche confirmed the GT2 RS was the fastest 911 yet around the Nordschleife.
Giant test: Alfa Romeo Stelvio vs Audi Q5 vs Volvo XC60