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In September 2017, test driver Fabio Francia punted the Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio around the Nürburgring and into the record books with a blistering lap time of 7 minutes and 51.7 seconds. An impressive feat for any vehicle, let alone a production SUV. But the maker’s association with the track began more than eight decades earlier, back when just the mention of an Alfa SUV would be cause for the Milan locals to eye you with suspicion and whisper “Guardati da quello pazzo” to their children. The ball got rolling when Alfa’s P3 finished 1-2-3 at the 1932 German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring. In 1966, Andrea de Adamich’s Giulia Sprint GTA was the first GT car to lap the ’Ring in under 10 minutes, and in 1975, Arturo Merzario piloted a 33TT12 to the winner’s circle en route to claiming the World Championship of Makes. More recently, the current Giulia Quadrifoglio set the record for standard production four-door sedans, completing the feat in 7 minutes, 32 seconds. Figuring the time was right to exploit this vintage Nürburgring bad-assery as well as its current record-setting Quadrifoglios, Alfa is announcing the release of the Stelvio Quadrifoglio NRING and Giulia Quadrifoglio NRING special editions.
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Limited to production runs of 108 copies of each, the pair are set to make their debut at the 2018 Geneva auto show. At this point, Alfa Romeo isn’t saying how many NRING editions, if any, will make it stateside. The NRING models get exclusive content including a numbered badge in the carbon-fiber dashboard insert and a Circuito Grey livery created for and exclusive to this limited edition. Standard equipment includes carbon-ceramic brakes, Sparco racing seats with red stitching and a carbon shell structure, a Mopar automatic-transmission knob with carbon insert, a leather and microsuede steering wheel with carbon-fiber inserts, and custom mats with a red logo. Additionally, the side skirts, front badge, and rearview-mirror caps are made of carbon fiber; the Giulia debuts a new bare-carbon roof option.
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Powertrains are unchanged from current Quadrifoglio spec, meaning that both vehicles carry the 505-hp twin-turbocharged 2.9-liter V-6 engine, eight-speed ZF transmission, and Alfa’s torque-vectoring differential and Chassis Domain Control system.
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- Tested: Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio
- The 505-HP 2017 Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio’s Hotness, Visually Explained
- First Drive: 2018 Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio
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Alfa Romeo said the Stelvio and Giulia Quadrifoglio Nürburgring Edition models sporting the NRING badge are “beyond top range and perfectly showcase the excellence of Alfa Romeo,” so if you hope to be one of the lucky 216 buyers, you’d better get a dealer on the phone now. Alfa isn’t talking price yet, but you can bet there will be a hefty upcharge from the standard Quadrifoglio models.
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