In 2015, the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio became the fastest sedan on the Nurburgring by lapping the German track in an impressive seven minutes and 39 seconds. The Italian four-door used a manual transmission and smashed the previous record set by the Porsche Panamera Turbo S in 2011, by a whopping 13 seconds. The Giulia's benchmark didn't last too long though, as the Panamera Turbo lapped the Green Hell a second quicker in 2016. Now, Alfa Romeo returned to 'Ring with the automatic version of the Quadrifoglio to regain its glory with a 7:32-minute record, no fewer than six seconds quicker than Porsche's record.

Not only the quickest sedan on Germany's iconic race track, the Giulia Quadrifoglio is also faster than a handful of new or relatively recent sports cars and supercars. This new benchmark makes it as quick as the previous-generation Porsche 911 Turbo S and the current Ford Shelby GT350R, and faster than the previous 911 GT3 RS, Chevrolet Camaro Z/28, and Nissan GT-R Spec-V. Heck, it's even quicker than supercars like the Pagani Zonda F, Koenigsegg CCX, and Lexus LFA, which says a lot about the technology, time, and money Alfa Romeo poured in the high-performance sedan.

Fortunately, the Italian automaker also released a video of the record-breaking lap, something Porsche has yet to provide for the Panamera Turbo. The car was driven by Alfa Romeo test driver Fabio Francia, who had a difficult time keeping the Giulia Quadrifoglio out of the green. The in-car footage is exciting to say the least and worth every minute, so make sure you give it a look before proceeding.

Continue reading for the full story.

Why it matters

This Nurburgring record business has been going on for more than a decade now, and even though it's quite spectacular to watch automakers setting quicker and quicker benchmarks, at the end of the day this contest should make no difference to buyers. That's because no one drives their car like this outside track days and maybe more importantly, it's no secret that automakers usually tweak their vehicles for Nurburgring laps beyond the configuration you get in dealerships. What's more, Porsche will probably return to the "Green Hell" with the Panamera Turbo S, which will probably shatter the Giulia's record again. What matters here is that from time to time we get these spectacular videos of powerful cars struggling to stay on tarmac through the 'Ring's tricky bends.

Alfa Romeo Giulia QV

Read our full review on the Alfa Romeo Giulia QV here.