Watch The Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio Accelerate To 168 MPH

Until the arrival of the Purosangue, this is the closest thing to a Ferrari SUV.

The Stelvio Quadrifoglio has just lost the crown for the fastest SUV around the Nurburgring to the Mercedes-AMG GLC 63 S, but that doesn’t make it by any means slow. It’s still one of the most exciting models in its segment, combining a Ferrari heart with Alfa Romeo’s superb new design language. Someone was curious to find out the sort of performance it delivers out in the real world and decided to take Italy’s speedy SUV to an unrestricted section of the Autobahn in Germany.

The Quadrifoglio in question is an all-wheel-drive variant equipped with the eight-speed automatic transmission responsible for sending those Ferrari-trained 505 prancing horses to the road. The twin-turbo 2.9-liter V6 sounds great as the revs increase to unlock the full potential of the engine. The high-performance SUV needed 4.1 seconds until 62 mph (100 kph) and 14.2 seconds from zero to 124 mph (200 kph).

It eventually got up to 168 mph (270 kph) in seventh gear, and there was still room for more considering Alfa Romeo quotes a top speed of 177 mph (285 kph). These are not overly impressive performance numbers when you compare the Stelvio Q to a small and lightweight sports car, which the SUV certainly isn’t. With AWD and the eight-speed auto, the version we had the pleasure of reviewing back in May tipped the scales at a hefty 4,360 pounds (1,978 kilograms). That’s a lot.

The Stelvio is Alfa Romeo’s only SUV for the time being, but an official 2018-2022 roadmap published earlier this year revealed plans for two new crossovers. One will be smaller and the other will be bigger, while the Stelvio is set to spawn a roomier long-wheelbase derivative likely to cater the Chinese market where LWB cars continue to be in high demand.

Video: Automann-TV / YouTube

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