An Alfa Romeo broke something recently, and that broken thing wasn’t itself. It was a real, live Nürburgring track record. Three cheers for Alfa Romeo, for also breaking its own stereotypes in the process. Alfa is very good at breaking things.
In the process of breaking Porsche’s Nürburgring production-SUV record by more than eight seconds, the 510-horsepower Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio managed to make it an entire 12.9 miles around the Nordschleife course without mechanical distress or stranding of the driver. What a day for Alfa—proving just how fast its conforming crossover is, without any, er, minor hiccups. This kind of merit is what the crossover market lives for.
Test driver Fabio Francia, who’s set other Nürburgring records for Alfa (because apparently not all of its cars break), ran the Stelvio Quadrifoglio around the ‘Ring in seven minutes and 51.7 seconds. The Porsche Cayenne Turbo held the previous record at seven minutes and 59.7 seconds.
Here is a video of that record. Notice that the car itself is not breaking!
Great job, Alfa. Perhaps you have learned to prioritize your ability to break things and channel it into more productive activities.