Alfa Romeo has broken the Nürburgring lap record for SUVs, with the new Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio clocking a time of 7:51.7.
This usurps previous lap record holder, the Range Rover Sport SVR, which lapped the circuit in 8:14.
The Stelvio’s time equals those of the BMW M4 in 2015 and places it among the top 100 road cars to ever post a lap time. It's an accolade that the brand hopes will mark it out from a burgeoning sports SUV segment, with existing as well as upcoming rivals like the BMW X3 M, Audi RS Q5, Jaguar F-Pace SVR and Porsche Macan Turbo all vying for supremity.
The Quadrifoglio would have to shed a further minute and six seconds to be the fastest road car car ever around the 'Ring but is only eight seconds off the Honda Civic Type R’s 7:43.8 time – the fastest front-wheel drive lap of the track.
The Stelvio Quadrifoglio is 39bhp down on the Range Rover Sport SVR, but its kerb weight, some 600-plus kilos lighter than the SVR, gave it the edge.
It’s the second Nürburgring record posted in as many days: Porsche set the production road car record with the 911 GT2 RS, achieving a time of 6:47.3 – more than one minute and four seconds quicker than the Stelvio Quadrifoglio.
