A few days ago, the Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadifoglio send the automotive world into a frenzy when it posted a lap time of 7:51.7 seconds at the 12.9-mile Nordschleife section of the Nurburgring. Not only was this lap time incredible, but it also broke the 7:59.74 production SUV lap record at the ‘Ring, which was held by the previous-generation Porsche Cayenne Turbo S and has stood for the past four years. Everybody, ourselves included, proclaimed the Stelvio Quadrifoglio as the new SUV king of the Ring. Or is it?

Well, the Alfa Romeo SUV’s record lap time is now being thrown into question after several people have flagged the video of the Stelvio QV’s ‘Ring lap time as being heavily edited. Bridge to Gantry was the first to question the legitimacy of the video, pointing to a number of edited instances contained in the video, including instances where the Stelvio QF shows up at the same location multiple times throughout the video. The website even compares the Stelvio’s video with that of other Nurburgring lap videos, specifically those from the Honda Civic Type R and the Porsche 911 GT2 RS. One comparison between the Alfa SUV and the Porsche sports car shows the Stelvio pushing faster than the 911 GT2 RS in a particular section of the track. That wouldn’t have meant anything in normal circumstances, but it is curious in this case because the 911 clocked in a lap time of 6:47.3, almost 1 minute faster than the Stelvio Quadrifoglio. Alfa Romeo has yet to comment on the controversy, though don’t expect to hear anything from the automaker unless it fesses up and doctored the SUV’s ‘Ring lap time.

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Is teleportation one of the Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadifoglio’s secret features?

It’s hard to tell at this point, but I’m fairly confident that the Alfa Romeo SUV is not capable of defying the laws of physics. If it did, we probably would’ve known about it by now because Alfa wouldn’t have stopped telling us about it. So the Stelvio is a normal SUV with normal features, at least as far as I know.

This brings us to all the controversy surrounding its lap video around the Nurburgring. I watched the evidence prepared by Bridge to Gantry, and they are pretty revealing. On numerous occasions, the website claims that the video rewinds and jumps in certain sections of the track, including one instance where it “teleports” four seconds “down the road” to the bridge at Quiddelbach. There are also instances where the Stelvio shows up at the same location a number of times, so that’s another head-scratcher.

Be that as it may, it would be interesting to see how Alfa Romeo responds to this. Bridge to Gantry suggests that without all the cutscenes, the Stelvio Quadrifoglio would’ve added an extra seven seconds to its lap time, putting it in the vicinity of the previous-gen Porsche Cayenne Turbo S’ lap time. Whether it’s still able to beat that lap time remains to be seen, but there’s something to be said if the Stelvio QF does beat it, but only by the skin of its teeth. Remember, the Cayenne Turbo S’ lap time was set four years ago so unless the Stelvio QF emphatically trashes the Porsche SUV’s lap time, any other scenario would’ve painted the Cayenne Turbo S in a far more positive light.

Nobody knows at this point so without any confirmation or denial from Alfa; we’re going to be left wondering which of the two SUVs is really the king of the ring in its segment.

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Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio

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