Lightning Lap 2022 is Here, Time to Guess Where the C8 Corvette Z06 Will Land Next Year

It is no secret that we are big fans of Car and Driver’s annual assault on Virginia International Raceway. The aptly named Lightning Lap feature is like the Super Bowl for fast cars, and, fortunately, our favorite team is almost always represented! C&D has been running Corvettes at the Lightning Lap since the inaugural event in 2006 when the brand new C6 Z06 and its LS2-powered sibling blitzed America’s ‘Ring within .4 sec. of the winning Ford GT and within .1 of the track-star Lotus Elise, respectively, before returning in year two as the new high-water mark, and the first vehicle to break the three-minute barrier.

Corvettes would go on to appear in the third Lightning Lap (the LS3 Z51 coupe chopped 2.4 seconds off of the 6.0’s mark), and the fourth running of LL in 2009, when the C6 ZR1 took home top honors and the new GS shaved another 2 clicks off of the Z51’s time. Lightning Lap 5 included the 2011 Z06 with the Z07 package that was 4.7 seconds faster than the non-Z07’s best time, 5.3 seconds faster than the GS, and nipping at the heels of its supercharged big brother while crossing the line before the contemporary GT3 RS (997.2) and SuperVeloce V12 Lambo. LL6 brought in the breathed-over PDE version of the ZR1 that again was the fastest car in attendance, and LL7 became the first outing where there wasn’t a new ‘Vette to track. The Crossed Flags returned to the fold in 2014 with the C7, and… you get the picture; Lightning Lap = data goldmine, Corvette = superstar at the event. It is that impressive back catalog of lapping data that makes LL ideal for C8Z speculation. It isn’t perfect, and the drivers aren’t quite professionals, but it is the best thing out there, especially when compared to the wild west of Nürburgring times!

With the final year before the C8 Z06 enters the octagon officially in the books this week, it is time to look at the leaderboard and guess where the flat-plane marvel will etch its name next year!

How Corvettes Stack Up Historically

Before we make our “game picks,” we want to set the stage a bit more. America’s Favorite Sports Car has been extremely successful in each of Lightning Lap’s various price-based “weight classes” and in the overall conversation. The 755-horse 2019 ZR1 remains the fifth-fastest car that C&D has ever sent around VIR, with a blazingly fast time of 2:39.5. That also makes it the fastest time ever recorded in the “LL4” class that covers all cars that MSRP between $125,000 and $249,999. Also notable in the top-end of the list is the all-time champion McLaren Senna that retailed for $1 million and set a 2:34.9 mark that looks all-but uncatchable in the near future. The silver spot on the podium was refreshed this year with the 720-horse AMG GT Black Series and its 2:37 flat time that pushed the 991.2 911 GT2 RS’ 2:37.8 down to bronze. McLaren also has the ZR1’s time sandwiched with the 765LT and the 720S on which the LT is based. The pair of Macs stopped the clock at 2:38.4 and 2:39.7, respectively, to round out the top 6.

The upcoming Z06’s primary competition for the hearts and minds of motoring aficionados, the 992-generation 911 GT3, set a remarkable benchmark time in this year’s event. The naturally-aspirated 502-HP enthusiast-special embraced the role of underdog in 2022. It registered a 7th-place 2:40.6, making it the least-powerful car in the top-10, the only three-pedaled car in the top-10 (the ZR1 they ran was an 8-speed), and the second-fastest LL4 car of all-time, behind only the previously mentioned C7 ZR1 (though, we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention the elephant in the room; dealer and speculator markups have turned the GT3 into a $300k vehicle, effectively pricing it out of LL4 early in its production run). The new GT3’s time is a full second faster than that of the hardcore 2019 GT3 RS. This thing isn’t playing around!

The C7 Z06 that lapped in 2015 (before the myriad of upgrades were added to that model’s spec-sheet between ’16 and ’19) remains the (co-)king of the ultra-competitive LL3 umbrella (that covers the $65,000-$124,999 price range) with its 2:44.6 fast lap from six years ago! That mark is also tied for 16th fastest time ever recorded, out of a list that now boasts 302 names!

Some other serious hardware on the list includes the track-slaying, extreme-aero equipped Viper ACR at 2:44.2 (15th all-time), the half-million-dollar gen-two Ford GT (11th, 2:43), the hybrid-hyper Porsche 918 Spyder (12th, 2:43.1), the former Nürburgring record-holding Huracán Performante (14th, 2:44), the 760-pony GT50 with the Carbon Fiber Track Pack and its C7Z-matching 2:44.6, and the ‘Vette’s sibling rival, the Camaro ZL1 1LE and its 19th place 2:45.0.

Some final notes:

• The Z07-equipped 2017 Grand Sport is the car on C&D’s list that punches highest above its weight. It sits between a pair of GT 911s and an exotic pair of Europeans at 28th all-time with “just” 460 horsepower.
• Our rooting interest this year, the four-door C7 Z06, aka. the Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing lapped VIR in 2:49.4.
• The Camaro ZL1 is rumored to receive the Blackwing’s bump from 650 to 668 horses and also inherit the Caddy’s carbon-ceramic brakes for ’23. These upgrades could bolster it as far as two and a half or three seconds up the list. That will have the send-off Camaro knocking on the door of a top-ten finish (and we can’t believe we are writing this), landing it somewhere between the McLaren 600LT Spider (10th, 2:42.6), and the Viper (2:44.2), goodbye GT500! The in-house competition will be fierce at LL 2023!

Where will the ME Z Land?

We won’t sugarcoat this; anything outside the top-20 would be an embarrassment for GM’s new halo car. At the very least, it has to improve upon the time laid down by the last car to wear the Z06 badge and losing to any Mustang, even one with a 90 HP advantage, would be unacceptable, so it needs to do better than 16th place and 2:44.6. If it can clip that impressive pair of old-school American sleds, it’ll truly enter rarified air, but we aren’t sure that should be considered the Z’s potential ceiling. If it can crack into the 2:43s, the Z will be playing in 918 Spyder territory, with the once-almighty Viper ACR and studs like the AMG GT-R and Performante in its rearview. Cracking the top 10 would make it the fastest mid-engine American, beating out the high-brow Ford GT.

Honestly, for many skeptics and keyboard warriors to consider the C8Z a success – and, like it or not, these published times do matter for a vehicle’s all-important street-cred – the 670-horse Z06 needs to put that new GT3 in its crosshairs. Becoming the fastest naturally aspirated car at VIR and simultaneously knocking Porsche’s new baby (along with the last 3RS and the nasty new 640 HP Turbo S) down a peg would be a huge win for the Corvette team! So… that’d be 7th best all-time. We think that’s a lofty goal, but also very doable for the new SuperVette!

Is a Top-5 Finish Possible?

As the C8Z has already made a habit of knocking our socks off, though, we’ve identified a nice 1.1-second gap between four and five that it could slide into and firmly accomplish the Z-project’s goal of “putting the world on notice.” For the C8 Z06 to outpace the otherworldly, mid-engine benchmark/YouTube darling McLaren 720S AND dethrone its muscle-bound sibling as the fastest American in LL history would be a big deal, but is it feasible?

It is too early to know for sure, but, on paper, the C8 Z06/Z07 has the chops to make 2:39.4 a reality. We’ve already touched on the LT6, which brings 20 and 25 more horses to the table than the C7Z and the big-wing Viper. It also overpowers the GT3 by nearly 170 ponies, but is down 40 (advertised) horses to the 720S and has a deficit of 85 when compared to the C7 ZR1. This David still might have the tools to take down those two giants. The key component for the Z06 is the new Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 Rs that it wears at all four corners, with the rears measuring an insane 345 mm wide (learn to decode your tires here!). The Cup 2 R is what the AMG GT Black Series used to set its VIR time (and set the ‘Ring record), and they have been Porsche’s secret weapon for the past couple of years. The unfathomably quick GT3 comes with them, as did the GT2 RS that the Black Series took down for Nürburg supremacy. We quote this stat every time the 2 R tire is brought up because it is extraordinary; per Michelin’s site, the R should shave up to .8 of a second per mile on track compared to the Cup 2 that used to be called a “cheater tire” at Lightning Lap. Couple that upgrade with the Z’s notable increase in width versus the regular Cup 2s on the ZR1 (335s out back) and the inferior 305-section P Zero Corsas on the 720, and the Z06 should mince both cars in the corners. According to Chevrolet, the better-balanced Z06 also out accelerates and is easier on the scale than the ultimate front-engine Corvette. Folks, a top-five LL finish, slotting only behind a quartette of track-focused, twin-turbo monsters like the Senna, AMG GT Black, GT2 RS, and 765LT, is absolutely within the realm of possibility!

While the NA Z06 will certainly retain the #1 position in our hearts, just imagine how fast the C8 ZR1 will be with a pair of snails forcing atmosphere into the same engine; the Senna better not get too comfortable atop that podium!

Source:
Car and Driver

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