Watch: Nurburgring SUV Record Broken by Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio

Alfa Romeo is going through its best period in many years after finally getting around to releasing a few decent models. The first one was the Giulia sedan, created to compete with established German names in the segment like the Audi A4, the BMW 3 Series or the Mercedes-Benz C-Class.

As you would expect, the Italian falls short on build quality and interior polish, but it more than makes up for it in character. And while it may not be as posh as the sourkrout-eating sedans, it definitely can give them a run for their money. Quite literally.

The Quadrifoglio version of the Giulia, equipped with the 2.9-liter twin-turbo V6 engine of Ferrari origin, has become the world's fastest four-door production car around Nordschleife with a time of seven minutes and 32 seconds. Which, to put it into perspective, is the same as that of an Audi R8 V10 Plus supercar.

The driver who managed the record run, Fabio Francia, has now returned to the German circuit with another Alfa Romeo model. The brand's first SUV is named after the famous Italian mountain pass, Stelvio, and even though it has the allure of an off-roader (by modern standards), that would actually make a good road on which to drive it.

The Quadrifoglio version has the same engine as the Giulia, developing 510 horsepower and sending it to all four wheels. The slightly higher center of mass is compensated by an ideal 50:50 weight distribution that was definitely put to the test during the run.

The Italian team managed to come away from their endeavor with a time of 7 minutes and 51.7 seconds, enough to make the Stelvio Quadrifoglio the world's fastest SUV around the Nurburgring. The title previously went to the second-generation Porsche Cayenne Turbo S. It looks like the new model has to improve its result by more than eight seconds to take the crown back.

You can watch the record-setting lap below.