Yahoo Autos Alfa Says the Stelvio Will Be the Fastest SUV at the Nurburgring
Worried that an Alfa Romeo SUV will dilute the Italian brand's high-performance image? Don't sweat it: Alfa says the hottest version of the car, the Stelvio Quadrifoglio will be the fastest SUV ever at the Nurburgring.
At the world debut of the 2018 Stelvio during the L.A. Auto Show, Alfa is confident that the 503-horsepower Stelvio Quadrifoglio will set the fastest SUV lap time at the Green Hell. So far, that claim is unconfirmed-it's based on internal simulations run by Alfa Romeo, not an actual lap test.
But it's a believable claim. The hottest Stelvio features the same 2.9-liter twin-turbo V6 as the Giulia Quadrifoglio Verde, riding on a modified version of that sport sedan's carbon-fiber, magnesium, and aluminum-intensive platform. Yep, that means this SUV has a perfect 50/50 weight distribution. The Stelvio utilizes torque-vectoring technology, a three-mode chassis setup with a dedicated Race setting, and available carbon-ceramic brakes to create an SUV that can actually dance.
Of course, it's up against some perplexingly stiff competition. The Bentley Bentayga, with a 0-60 of 3.5 seconds, beats the Alfa's 3.9, and a Tesla Model X P100D with Ludicrous Mode will smoke them both. And hot SUVs from Land Rover, BMW, Porsche and Jaguar were all designed to carve up race tracks like two-door sports cars, not high-riding utility vehicles.
Alfa's claim is bold, if unverified. But remember: The Giulia Quadrifoglio Verde nabbed the Nurburgring record for four-door sedans, twice. If Alfa was going to build an SUV, it was gonna be damn sure it lived up to the Alfa name.
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