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Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio is new SUV king of the 'Ring

It's been a couple years since the last Nurburgring SUV lap record was set by the Porsche Cayenne Turbo S, a quick time of 7 minutes and 59 seconds making it the first SUV to pull off a sub-8 minute time. The Cayenne's glory days are over, though, as the Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio just obliterated that time. Alfa's wild SUV with its Ferrari-based 510-horsepower twin-turbo V6 managed to whip around the north loop of the 'Ring in just 7 minutes and 51 seconds. Not only does that make it 8 seconds quicker than the Cayenne, it's an insane 23 seconds faster than the Land Rover Range Rover SVR, the record holder before Porsche. The Stelvio also was working with a notable power disadvantage compared with the Cayenne and the Range Rover. The Porsche packed 565 horsepower, and the Land Rover had 542 horsepower. View 9 Photos Alfa Romeo also got the whole lap on film, which you can view up above. The video also shows that the Stelvio had an aftermarket roll cage fitted for an extra layer of safety. Alfa didn't say anything about how that might affect performance or what may have been done to offset it. But as we always point out with these records, they shouldn't be taken too seriously, especially for the SUV segment, in which we can virtually guarantee no one will be attempting to replicate this lap time with their personal Stelvios. Related Video:

Alfa Romeo prioritizing vehicle quality and customer satisfaction

Stellantis honcho Carlos Tavares has proved himself adroit at the turnaround. GM had lost money on its European Opel/Vauxhall unit for two decades before Tavares took the helm at Peugeot-Citroen (PSA) and bought GM's European arm. Tavares restored Opel/Vauxhall to profit in a year. Within 18 months of PSA's "merger" with Fiat-Chrysler being official, we're no longer hearing doomsday stories from some of the perpetually troubled marques under the new umbrella. All of the Italians — Alfa Romeo, Abarth, Fiat, Lancia, Maserati — say they're doing well, Alfa Romeo back in the black and planning a range that will be more accessible and more fun to own. Having established Tavares' mastery of the basics, we've yet to find out if he knows how to transform a brand, which is what all of the Italian automakers need. At Alfa Romeo, the North American heads told Automotive News that they're still establishing the foundations of a revolution. In doing so, the brand sounds more like the kind of premium automaker it's been aspiring to be since its return in 2008.  Vincent Noirbent, VP of Brand and Product Planning for Alfa Romeo on this continent, said the automaker's working a 10-year plan to place itself as Stellantis' global premium brand below Maserati's all-out luxury. We don't know how that's going to work with Lancia in Europe, but we don't get Lancia, so that potential clash is out of our jurisdiction. Autonews phrased Noirbent's message as, "Customer satisfaction and vehicle quality are arguably 'more important' to the brand than sales as it works to build momentum in the U.S." He also said it's more important to build a "sound business" built around the strengths of the brand and that doesn't rely on incentives. A Miami dealer described comments from Alfa Romeo North America boss Larry Dominque as wanting to "make the cars right first, make the [ownership] experience better, and build the value of the brand so somebody will pay an extra $100 a month." In an interview from Pebble Beach, Dominique said a luxury service experience and experiential marketing will also be involved. This will include "concierge services, pick-up and drop-off service for test drives," and when visiting a dealer, "it's the kind of thing where not only could you come in to see beautiful cars, but also do Italian cooking lessons and wine tastings." All the work will take time.

Alfa Romeo Giulia police cars will save lives

Oh look, it's another Italian performance vehicle turned into a police car. Evildoers beware, right? Not exactly. As much as we'd love to picture an Alfa Romeo Giulia chasing down bank robbers through the streets of Milan this newest addition to the Italy's national police fleet will be used for less thrilling purposes. Instead of chasing down speeders, two copies of new Giulia Quadrifoglio will transport organs and blood for emergency medical use, as well as serve ceremonial escort cars. The police version here adds the usual cop goodies like radios and lights, a portable defibrillator, LED flashlights in the doors, and one of those round signaling flags that Italians seem to love. There no mention of a cop motor or cop brakes, but that's probably not necessary. 'The Quadrifolgio tops the 2017 Alfa Romeo Giulia lineup with a 505 hp twin-turbo V6 capable of 0 to 60 mph in 3.8 seconds. When it eventually goes on sale in the US later this year or early next year, prices will range from around $40,000 for the base model to $70,000 in Quadrifoglio trim. Related Video: Featured Gallery Carabinieri Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio police car View 9 Photos Alfa Romeo Luxury Police/Emergency Performance Sedan police car alfa romeo giulia