corvette zr1 new nurburing track record

[pawan]

well as title says the zr1 has the official fastest lap around nurburing.

Tadge J. Juechter, Corvette's chief engineer, announced this morning that Jim Mero, GM's development engineer, drove the ZR1 around the Nurburgring in 7:26.4. According to the GMNext blog, the run took place earlier this morning and that conditions were good on the track, with the exception of a strong headwind down the main straight. Mero mentioned that he felt there were a few places where he could have gone faster, although no details were provided about why and where.

Juechter makes it clear that the ZR1 that lapped the 'Ring was instock trim, with the exception of safety and communications equipment. As such, the ZR1 was wearing the same Michelin Pilot Sport 2s found on the production model, the chassis alignment and vehicle height were set to factory specs and the unmodified engine was running on pump gas.

The lap began with a rolling start – which falls in line with current industry practices – and the time was confirmed both through an electronic timing system and two hand-held stopwatches. The ZR1 team will be posting a video of their run when they return from Germany and we'll be keeping our eye out for it when it's online the week of July 7th.

Gauntlet thrown: Corvette ZR1 laps the 'Ring in 7:26.4 - Autoblog

GM assures us that the lap time was set by stock ZR1, fitted only with extra safety and communications equipment. Everything else, from the production-spec Michelin Pilot tires, to the factory-spec ride height and suspension settings were untouched. Even the fuel was normal pump gas, though that stuff is still probably like $500 per gallon in Germany, right? None the less, this is the same spec car that people all across the country are going to buy at an inflated price , and inevitably hide away in their garage only to be driven on Sundays. Let's hope some this isn't the last we'll see of the ZR1 ripping up a racetrack.

Corvette ZR1 Laps Nurburgring In 7:26.4

GM.

[Nikhilb2008]

Has anyone taken an Enzo or a 430 Scuderia onto the track?

If so, what were the official times? Any place where I can check the complete list?

I find it very hard to believe that not a single European car is faster than an AMERICAN car!! Maybe the Europeans cant be bothered!!

[akshay1234]

didnt the nissan gtr do a lap in 7:29 or was it 7:39.

[pawan]

Originally Posted by Nikhilb2008

Has anyone taken an Enzo or a 430 Scuderia onto the track?

If so, what were the official times? Any place where I can check the complete list?

I find it very hard to believe that not a single European car is faster than an AMERICAN car!! Maybe the Europeans cant be bothered!!

this track was never a bragging ground but a test facility but changed now mainly by jap car manufactures.

[aaggoswami]

One more link:
Corvette ZR1 Laps Nurburgring in 7 min 26

Seems like Honda has now to do a lot of stuff on the new NSX and also Toyota will have to make changes to match or beat these timings.

[Shan2nu]

Seems like Honda has now to do a lot of stuff on the new NSX

Not thats a battle i don't wanna miss.

The Nurburgring is an incredible proving ground. It's got so many slow/fast turns which finally ends with a 4km straight. You you have to be quick in the cerners as well as on the straights to be the fastest overall.

Shan2nu

[pawan]

i would like to see what porsche do around this since the gtr went for the old vette and 911t but just the new vette and turbo would surely dethrone it.

[ab1xlr8]

the zr1 maybe a fast car no doubt,but u should not pay too much attention to the lap times set by car manufacturer cause mostly they are unreliable.the actual times to look out are from third party or independent tests as done by car magazines like Autocar or Sport auto ,as the cars used are completly stock.
the fastest times set by any car as tested are

7:32.44 163.91 km/h -- Porsche Carrera GT, 612 PS/ 1475 kg, definitive time Horst von Saurma (sport auto 01/04)
7:33 --- 163.71 km/h -- Pagani Zonda F, 602 PS/ 1371 kg, Horst von Saurma (sport auto 05/06)
7:33 --- 163.71 km/h --Porsche 997 GT2, 530 PS/1497 kg (sport auto 11/07)
7:34 --- 163.59 km/h -- Koenigsegg CCR, 806 PS/1418 kg, Horst von Saurma (sport auto oct,17-18 05)

[Amien]

Epic, Simply Epic. Chevy has thrown down their ace. Now let's see what the GTR V spec and the new NSX can do. *makes popcorn*

[abhiram7912]

nissan gtr is 7:29 and i think the gtr spec v which will be launched by the end of 2009 will be faster than the corvette. but its a great time for a 100,000 $ car

Abhi

[sujaylahiri]

Originally Posted by Nikhilb2008

Has anyone taken an Enzo or a 430 Scuderia onto the track?

If so, what were the official times? Any place where I can check the complete list?

I find it very hard to believe that not a single European car is faster than an AMERICAN car!! Maybe the Europeans cant be bothered!!

In case you haven't noticed yet, most of the European cars have already posted lap times on the Ring. Some notable examples being the 911 GT2, the Carrera GT, the Gallardo, Zonda, almost all the BMWs etc. It just takes a little bit of digging up on the internet to see the lap timings.

I find it quite an unfair comment that just because the car is American, it cannot beat European cars like the Ferrari etc. round a track.

In fact right now, some of the top contenders for the Ring lap times are all non-European: Lexus, Honda, Chevrolet, Nissan.

Anyway, back to the actual topic, I think it's a tremendous job by General Motors to have achieved this feat, and considering that it was done by Jim Mero, GM's development engineer, there is still scope for improvement if it's done by a pro racing driver/test driver.

Also here's some of the lap times as mentioned on Wikipedia. Although the Lexus LF-A and the GT-R V spec ones are unofficial ones.
Nordschleife lap times - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[sujaylahiri]

Originally Posted by ab1xlr8

the zr1 maybe a fast car no doubt,but u should not pay too much attention to the lap times set by car manufacturer cause mostly they are unreliable.the actual times to look out are from third party or independent tests as done by car magazines like Autocar or Sport auto ,as the cars used are completely stock.

I think that the lap times mentioned by the manufacturers themselves are pretty reliable, as everyone else in the media and the rest of the manufacturers believe it, and you can also see the videos on Youtube to confirm the same (the ZR1 video will be out soon, says GM).

Also the ZR1 (or most of the cars these days) are pretty much in stock form while the lap times are set, with the exception of added safety equipment (roll cage, helmets, fire extinguishers) which actually make them a bit heavier.

I think that it's better to leave out the lap times to the manufacturers themselves, since they know their car best and can also harness the right amount of power at the right time with a pro driver, something which the auto magazines don't have access to.

[punterccrx8s]

Pretty impressive being an american car.I have never liked the corvette.But the zr1 is a serious contender in the supercar world. Once the veyron is taken to nurburgring nordscheife,it'll be good bye everything else.

[Amien]

Originally Posted by punterccrx8s

Once the veyron is taken to nurburgring nordscheife,it'll be good bye everything else.

If im not mistaken, That's been done already, timed in 7:4x seconds i believe. Anyone confirm/correct that?

[sujaylahiri]

Originally Posted by punterccrx8s

Pretty impressive being an american car.I have never liked the corvette.But the zr1 is a serious contender in the supercar world. Once the veyron is taken to nurburgring nordscheife,it'll be good bye everything else.

It costs like 10 times more than the ZR1, so it better do it.

Anyway I seriously doubt the Veyron will be as good and agile around a track like the Nordschleife as it is on open roads. That's because it looks more of a touring car (or GT car) to me than a track car. I mean it's still seriously faster than the other cars out there (0-60, top speeds etc.), but I think that the tricked out Porsches, Corvettes and even Nissans could perform better round a circuit than the Veyron.