Using its radical new mid-engined Corvette, Chevrolet has just done what no other carmaker has achieved. The Corvette Z06, ZR1 and ZR1X took over the 12.9-mile Nurburgring Nordschleife circuit–the most challenging race track on the planet–where, for the first time in the track’s history, an automaker brought three different cars with three non-racecar drivers to record three lap times in a single visit. Three of the Chevrolet engineers who helped develop these cars, and have extensive experience and advanced driving credentials, piloted them during the fast laps, highlighting the depth of talent and performance within General Motors.
The Chevrolet team now has the fastest official laps set by an American manufacturer at the Nürburgring Nordschleife.
America’s sports car, unleashed in Germany
Corvette ZR1X vehicle dynamics engineer Drew Cattell completed a 6:49.275 lap in the electrified all-wheel drive ZR1X and now has the fastest lap time of any non-professional racecar driver at the Nürburgring in the list of official record laps. ZR1 vehicle dynamics engineer Brian Wallace set a 6:50.763 time in the 1,064-horsepower ZR1.
The 670-horsepower Corvette Z06, with the most powerful naturally aspirated V8 ever put in a production car, set a lap of 7:11.826 with vehicle performance manager Aaron Link behind the wheel.
“No auto manufacturer has done a Nürburgring lap attempt like this before,” said GM President Mark Reuss. “From development through production, and now at the Nürburgring Nordschleife, the Green Hell, we have clearly shown there is no limit to what our GM engineers and vehicles can accomplish. These are the best Corvettes in history, period.”
The new documentary “Homegrown Speed: A Corvette Story” goes behind the scenes and showcases the journey from GM’s Milford Proving Ground to Germany, illustrating the intensity and precision of pursuing three lap times with three separate Corvette variants and three different drivers. In addition to the engineers who set the lap times, the film features Reuss, Senior Vice President of Product Programs, Safety, Integration and Motorsports Ken Morris and Corvette Executive Chief Engineer Tony Roma.
The cars
The Corvettes at the Nürburgring were all U.S. production-spec vehicles, with the only modifications being the safety equipment recommended by the track. This includes a roll cage, full containment race seat, fire extinguisher, and a six-point safety harness. All three set lap times for the Prototype/Pre-Production category, since the ZR1 and ZR1X are not sold in Europe and the Z06 was a North American variant.
CARLIST THOUGHTS
Since 2019, lap times have been officially recorded, confirmed and published by the Nürburgring, with carmakers providing video proof from the world’s most demanding racetrack. Below are the fastest production cars on the 12.9-mile full circuit of the Nürburgring Nordschleife, also known as the Green Hell, according to the Nürburgring’s website.
| Fastest Production Cars at the Nürburgring | |||
| # | Time | Vehicle | Category |
| 1 | 06:29.090 | Mercedes AMG One | Super Sports Car |
| 2 | 06:43.300 | Porsche 911 GT2 RS Manthey Performance Kit | Sports Car |
| 3 | 06:44.749 | Porsche 911 GT2 RS MR | Modified Vehicles |
| 4 | 06:48.047 | Mercedes AMG Black Series | Sports Car |
| 5 | 06:49.275 | Chevrolet Corvette ZR1X | Prototypes / Pre-Production Vehicles |
| 6 | 06:49.328 | Porsche 911 GT3 RS | Sports Car |
| 7 | 06:50.763 | Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 | Prototypes / Pre-Production Vehicles |
| 8 | 06:52.072 | Ford Mustang GTD | Sports Car |