Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio becomes world's fastest production SUV

The Stelvio Quadrifoglio, Alfa Romeo’s first-ever SUV, has claimed the title of world's fastest production SUV, setting a new benchmark lap time at Germany's Nürburgring. The vehicle lapped the 12.9-mile Nordschleife (north loop) in a record 7 minutes 51.7 seconds. This new benchmark time is a full eight seconds faster than the previous production SUV record.

The Stelvio Quadrifoglio record was established by Fabio Francia, the same driver who also set the track record for the fastest four-door sedan in the world on the Nürburgring with the Giulia Quadrifoglio in a time of just 7 minutes and 32 seconds.

This usurps previous lap record holder, the Range Rover Sport SVR, which lapped the circuit in eight minutes and 14 seconds.

The Stelvio’s time also equals those of the BMW M4 in 2015 and places it amongst the top 100 road cars to ever post a lap time. It's an accolade which 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 supremacy.

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; over one minute and four seconds quicker than the Stelvio Quadrifoglio. 

According to Alfa Romeo, the Stelvio Quadrifoglio extensively integrates lightweight, state-of-the-art materials that enable and deliver perfect 50/50 weight distribution, segment-leading torsional rigidity, class-exclusive carbon fiber driveshaft and the most direct steering available.

The ultra-high performance SUV is powered by an all-aluminum, direct-injection 2.9-litre 24-valve Twin-Turbo intercooled V6 engine, delivering 510 horsepower and 443 lb.-ft. of torque, to which the standard Q4 all-wheel-drive system is paired for the first time. The engine is paired to an eight-speed automatic transmission with specific settings for shifting in just 150 milliseconds in Race mode.

(With inputs from Jimi Beckwith, Autocar UK)