Alfa Romeo laps Silverstone blindfolded

Morris lapped the Silverstone National Circuit in 1 minute 44.3 seconds, near enough matching Farina's lap time from 1951. Assistance for the record attempt was provided by David Brise, following in a second Quadrifoglio to give directions. The drivers spent two days getting to grips with the challenge, first practising on the smaller Stowe Circuit before moving onto the National Circuit.

Alfa Romeo's active safety systems such as Forward Collision Warning, Autonomous Emergency Brake with pedestrian recognition and Lane Departure Warning, were used in the attempt; giving the driver an additional degree of confidence. The on-board Alfa Connect infotainment system kept the driver in contact with the support crew.

"I've driven hundreds of cars but never one with all the windows blacked out," commented Ed Morris. "As a racing driver it's in your nature to push yourself and the car to its limits and knowing the Alfa Romeo Giulia is packed with so many high-performance technologies really allowed us to have complete trust in it and focus on setting a record."

With 510hp from its Bi-Turbo V6 petrol engine the Giulia reached speeds of more than 100mph on the 1.64-mile course, despite having the windows obscured with black vinyl. By way of comparison Farina's Grand Prix car boasted 425hp from its 1.5-litre twin supercharged straight eight motor.

Watch the lap in this video:

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