Neue Zeit am Ring?

[Frank the Judge]

Die machen ja echt auf geheimnisvoll. Hat jemand den Test gesehen? Muß ja in den letzten Tagen passiert sein.
Kennt jemand die gestoppte Zeit?

Well after 2 failed attempts, one because of rain and another because of a crash, Tadge Juechter, Corvette’s chief engineer, confirmed the Corvette Z06 has been “officially” back at the ring to be initiated into the brotherhood of the world’s top ten fastest production cars. According to Tadge Juechter “we were finally able to confirm the performance of the [C7 Z06] on a continuous lap of the Nürburgring. We are putting together the press release and will have the lap time and video out shortly. I can tell you we were more than satisfied with the results.” Juechter went on to state that they would soon be releasing the results and a video of the Nurburgring lap.



Team Chevrolet is no newcomer to the ring to prove that the Corvette is a world class supercar; the C6 Corvette Z06 and ZR1 are both still among the top ten fastest production cars to have made the grade. Jim Mero, a Chevrolet engineer, lapped the ring in 2011 in a C6 Z06 at 7 minutes 22.68 seconds and holds down the tenth spot among the world’s fastest cars, and this was 5 years ago! Only two weeks earlier he took a Corvette ZR1 around the “Ring” in the lightning fast time of 7 minutes 19.63 seconds, three seconds faster than the time he posted in the Z06. His ZR1 run placed it ninth on the top ten list.



To break into the exclusive top ten production car Nurburgring times is more than challenging. Less than three seconds separates the fastest time of 6 minutes 48 seconds set in 2009 by a Radical SR8 LM (not even really a production car) and the tenth place Z06 set in 2011. The last car to break the top ten was in 2013 by a Porsche 918 Spyder with the Weissach Package (MSRP: $929,000) and holds down the second place on the list with a time of 6 minutes and 57 seconds.



Here are the top ten Nurburgring times as they stand prior to Chevrolet’s official announcement:

10. Chevrolet Corvette C6 Z06 (7 minutes 22.68 seconds) 2011

9. Chevrolet Corvette C6 ZR1 (7 minutes 19.63 seconds) 2011

8. Donkervoort D8 RS (7 minutes 14.89 seconds) 2006

7. Lexus LFA Nurburgring Package (7 minutes 14.64 seconds)2011

6. Dodge Viper SRT-10 ACR (7 minutes 12.13 seconds) 2011

5. Gumpert Apollo Sport (7 minutes 11.57 seconds) 2009

4. Nissan GT-R Nismo (7 minutes 8.69 seconds) 2013

3. Lamborghini Aventador SV – 6.59.73s

2. Porsche 918 Spyder Weissach Package (6 minutes 57 seconds) 2013

1. Radical SR8 LM (6 minutes 48 seconds) 2009