Nurburgring Lap Record Archives

Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio is fastest SUV around Nurburgring

Alfa Romeo managed to set a new lap record at the Nurburgring with their soon to be launched 2018 Stelvio Quadrifoglio. Piloted by the same daredevil who made the Giulia Quadrifoglio the fasted four door sedan around the legendary circuit, the Stelvio Quadrifoglio has become the fastest SUV to do so.

“We specifically engineered and designed the Stelvio Quadrifoglio to set world-class benchmarks and it did not disappoint with a world-record Nürburgring lap time of 7 minutes and 51.7 seconds,” said Reid Bigland, Head of Alfa Romeo.

“We’re proud to now hold two Nürburgring lap time records with the Giulia Quadrifoglio as the fastest four-door production sedan and the Stelvio Quadrifoglio as the fastest production SUV,” he added.

Lapping the infamous proving ground of mainstream automakers in just 7 minutes and 51.7 seconds, the Stelvio Quadrifoglio is the halo vehicle of the Stelvio line up. It features some of the best tech of the entire line up and includes the following options:

Ultra-lightweight carbon fiber shell Sparco racing seats, providing maximum lateral support during extreme cornering thanks to more aggressive bolstering, and designed to be the lightest in the segment, while providing comfort for long road trips
Ultra-high-performance Brembo carbon-ceramic material (CCM) brake system

Fabio Francia, hurled the SUV around banked corners with great aplomb as he chased the elusive title of fastest SUV to lap the Nurburgring. The Performance SUV segment isn’t a big one and Porsche has pretty much been the King of the Hill until recently.

But that should change soon as automakers such as Jaguar, Aston Martin and Maserati are gunning to be crowned the best of the best. This is why Alfa Romeo hopes that its latest achievement, proves that the Stelvio Quadrifoglio offers the best mix of high performance, capability and design.

Powering the vehicle is a 2.9-litre V6 twin-turbo engine that produces 505bhp and 601Nm of torque. This colossal amount of power is sent to all four wheels via Alfa’s Q4 all-wheel-drive (AWD) system, which is said to deliver better performance and superior control.

The latest feat makes Alfa Romeo the only manufacturer at the moment to hold the lap record for a production four-door sedan and an SUV. But if these vehicles don’t tickle your fancy, Alfa does offer more docile variants of these performance vehicles for much lower prices.

That said, check out the youtube video below to witness Alfa’s record breaking attempt at the Nurburgring:

Lamborghini Huracán Performante arrive in UK for demo purposes

The First Lamborghini Huracán Performante demonstrators have reached the UK’s H.R. Owens , where the iconic Lamborghini London dealership will put the exotic track-focused car on display as well as demonstrate to customers, what it can accomplish.

It’s the very same showroom that was named the No.1 Lamborghini dealership worldwide in 2016. It has also displayed a number of other iconic cars, which include the Centenario, Huracán LP 620-2 Super Trofeo racer and the 1988 Countach QV.

This is considered the first wave of demos in the UK and allow Lamborghini customers to experience the sheer agility and acceleration that this car has to offer compared to the standard Huracan.

It’s considerably lighter than the base Huracan, weighing about 40kg lighter at 1,382kg in dry weight. This was achieved through extensive use of carbon fiber and forged aluminium. The changes that set it apart from the base car are new front and rear bumpers, carbon fiber bumper skirts, new rear spoiler and a new interior that features a different digital speedometer.

Carbon fibre has been used extensively throughout parts like the rear spoiler, front splitter, rear diffuser as well as other elements of the car. Together, they form the active aerodynamic system of the car that move independently to ensure clean airflow for better grip and higher top speed. Like the Sesto Elemento, several body panels have been hollowed out to reduce weight, an extreme way to make a car lighter.

Though the engine is the same 5.2-litre V10 that is in the rest of Huracan variants, but the one in the Perfomante produces 631bhp and 601Nm of torque, allowing it to sprint to 100km/h from a standstill in under 3.0 seconds and reach a top speed of 325km/h.

Thanks to the extensive weight saving measures and a more powerful engine, the Huracan Performante managed to set a new lap record at the Nürburgring Nordschleife in October of 2016. Its considered one of the more special Lamborghinis right now.

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