Don't think that was the one I'm thinking of. The one I'm talking about was definitely in Italy and featured the 2.0, I specifically didn't do any research on the quad before getting the Stelvio since it wasn't what I was looking at.
Pretty sure there was small amount of snow driving in it also, might not have been in English, I watched every video I could find on the 2.0, some of them through translators since there are more Euro videos....it could have been attached to an article too, after a while it all runs together.
Or I could be remembering wrong.
Probably right about the engineers saying that about every engine, but maybe not too. Most car companies do not let thier engineers steer the ship, Alfa obviously did.
Just look at the heat shielding around the turbo on the 2.0, Audi, BMW, MBZ, Toyota..they would never ok development and manufacturing expenses for that on a base model engine...or the placement, it is one of the most accessible turbos on any engine, which could also be said about almost anything else on the 2.0. Even the oil filter is thoughfully placed for maintenance, all the A/C fittings are open and easy to get hoses on - and the lines are routed intelligently through the engine bay, not just shoved where they fit. The bolts and nuts used throughout the engine are high grade metal and placed with enough room to get a socket on them without doing yoga for the most part. Even with a truckton of electronics and wires all over the top of the engine the spark plugs/coil packs are still basically easy to get at and don't require the tech to relocate anything (doesn't look like it at least), then lets talk about the electronics, they use connectors that are designed to be removed and reattached without breaking! Unlike say everyone else in Europe, who primarily use single use connectors that basically have to be broken to remove, making diagnosis expensive and/or slow, especially once the car is a few years old.
Even the way the hood is hinged to bring it up at the rear a little which actually makes it easy to access the entier engine from either side as well as the front! People make a big deal about the "service position" Honda uses for thier hoods...Alfa makes the service position the only position...most manufacturers would tell the engineers "No" too expensive and no one cares about a hinge.... Which is correct, except for engineers...they care about hinges. (Owners and technitions do to, just not till poor design/engineering makes work harder/more expensive and then it is too late)
Alfa just let the engineers do what they wanted, then told the design team to make it work. Most car companies do the reverse. The design team does what it wants and the engineers make it work. More and more the real engineers aren't even employed directly by the manufacturers but work for a supplier subcontracted to engineer vehicles based on design specs. Look up Magna Steyr and thier connection to Audi, Mercedes, BMW, Toyota, etc...
I haven't poked around the engine bay of the quad, but the 2.0 reads like a love letter from an Automotive engineer to the people who will be driving and maintaining the vehicle...seems like it could be some engineer's favorite....
(Not getting into limitations set by regulations, or market demands/positioning and profitability requirments...at the end of the day, no one really just does what they want.)
Sorry for the book. I just really think the 2.0 is an incredibly under-rated engine. If BMW or Honda came out with something like this the automotive press would start a new religion around it...but Alfa did it so the best you get is, "It's nice but it'll probably catch fire or something, that V6 though..."
Like the pic BTW...