For nearly two years the fastest production car to ever lap Virginia International Raceway’s 4.1 Mile Grand Course was the 2019 Corvette ZR1 which broke a one-week old record set by the half-million dollar Ford GT when it stopped the clock at 2:37.25.
It took a car twice as expensive as the ultra-low production Ford to get it done, but the King of the Hill has been dethroned as VIR Grand’s quickest road car.
During the 13th running of their annual Lightning Lap feature, Car and Driver set the new mark of 2:34.9 in one of the 500 examples of McLaren’s Senna hypercar set to leave Woking, Surrey, England during the cars, 100% pre-sold, production run.
Unlike fellow hypercar and former lap record holder (2:43.1), Porsche 918 Spyder, the McLaren accomplished this impressive feat without the help of any form of electrification, allowing it to tip the scales at just 3,029 pounds. This featherweight is pushed along by the same twin-turbo V8 found in each car in McLaren’s modern stable. In this, highest stage of tune, it displaces 4.0L and sends 789 horses to the rear wheels while the massive active rear wing creates up to 1,764 pounds of downforce. The lap saw the Senna reach the highest speed C&D had ever seen out of the 263 vehicles that they have run at VIR when it touched 172.9 on the front straightaway. It followed this up by also matching their all-time best average speed (134.5 mph!) through the uphill esses.
With specs and stats like the Senna brings to the table, this fight was over before it even started. Corvette fans can take solace in the fact that it took an (admittedly homely) over-the-top, purpose built, million-dollar car that few are likely to ever see anywhere to defeat our working-man’s supercar around America’s toughest track; that and the fact that ever-more potent versions of our newly-revamped mid-engine hero are on the way to attempt to win the record back for America!
One final note from LL 13 that may add some insult to injury around here but is extremely impressive, none the less; the 2007 Z06’s time of 2:58.2 was surpassed for the first time this year… by an SUV! The Lamborghini Urus turned in a time of 2 minutes, 55.8 seconds. What a world we live in!
Watch the video of the McLaren Senna breaking the VIR track record at Car and Driver.
Source:
CarandDriver.com
Related:
[VIDEO] 2019 Corvette ZR1 Claims the Full Course Lap Record at VIR
[VIDEO] 2019 Corvette ZR1 Nails a Record Lap at VIR with a Time of 2:37.25
[VIDEO] 2017 Corvette Z06 with New Magnetic Shock Calibrations Runs 2:39.77 at VIR
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Homely? When I first saw the pic I thought it was a C8
Shame on you Rush lol. I’m just glad our car took out the Porsche and the GT. It looks alright, but 980K?? I’ll take me some C8 any day. In the meantime I will keep looking for a C6 GS to replace my awesome C6 that’s in the driveway right now.
McLaren Senna is one awesome car.
It says a heck of a lot for the awesome ZR1 that it takes such an expensive, purpose built, limited production car to beat its VIR record. Look out world for the new halo version of the already formidable C8! What a wonderful time it is again for car enthusiasts! I thought it was all over for us in 1974 but yet here we are in an unimaginable and even better new era of horsepower and performance wars!
That’s a well spent $850k if I don’t say so myself!
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