![[POLL] Time For The Corvette Z06 To Get Back To The 'Ring](https://www.corvetteblogger.com/images/content/2021/081821_14b.jpg)
Do you remember the span between 2009 and 2012? Man, it was fun to be a car enthusiast, and especially a Corvette fan back then! Once the C6 ZR1 stormed the 12.9 miles of the Nordschleife in 7:26.4 to best Nissan’s highly-publicized 7:29 GT-R time, it was game on! From that point, it seemed like every few months, we’d get word from Germany that the Nürburgring record had fallen; ever-more potent GT-Rs emerged, Dodge got in on the action with an aero-optimized ACR version of the Viper, and Porsche’s GT department basically lived at the ‘Ring to protect its claim to the so-called Green Hell.
Chevrolet returned fire in 2012 with the devastating 1-2 punch of the Z07-equipped Z06 and perfected PDE ZR1 that laid down respective times of 7:22.68 and 7:19.4. Then, almost as fast as they made ‘Ring times fashionable, the ‘Vette vanished from competition. In the intervening eleven model years, spread out over an entire generation – plus three years – of America’s Sports Car, the Crossed Flag faithful have been left guessing where their team would rank amongst the current crop of track-focused street cars, with GM occasionally tossing us a scrap from the table in the form of “segment times.”
Last week, Porsche announced their latest triumph in the field that Corvette abandoned. The new naturally aspirated GT3 RS has officially lapped the ‘Ring faster than the monster, 700-horse twin-turbo GT2 RS with a hard-to-believe time of 6:49.328. Even though Stuttgart’s new baby barely outmuscles the “regular” GT3 (or the retired-for-a-decade C6 Z06, for that matter) with 518 HP, it comes from the factory with an aerodynamics kit that shames even the new 911 racecar that we’ll see at Daytona. The latest RS makes a maximum of 1,896 lbs. of downforce, more than 2.5x as much as the C8 Z06, and 200 lbs. more than the McLaren Senna track special. It also has a stripped-down interior that helps it tip the scales at just 3,250 lbs., and it rides on the same Pilot Sport Cup 2 R rubber as the Z06.
So, with the GT3 RS joining the now-discontinued Lamborghini Aventador SVJ (6:44.97) in the naturally aspirated record book and the bi-turbo AMG GT Black Series still sitting on the green throne with a 6:43.616, the screaming, 670-horse Z06 has two very real targets sitting down range. The only question is, will the newest and mightiest ‘Vette get back on the field, or will the flat-plane wonder stay on the sideline?
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To beat 6:49+ will require a lot of aero mods…can GM do it??
Only With the C8 GT3 R carbon fibre aero panels can the Z06 compete with the new GT3 RS.
+ for top speed active aero has to be introduced as a second step. Be surprised Mary B. would go for that expenditure…. GM also refuses to pay for royalty to the Ring owners to be allowed to show/display lap times. This fee is supplement to track rental schedules..
Congrats to Porsche for once again pushing the envelope with their GT3 RS, NA 4.0L Six w/ added Drag Reduction System (DRS), (active/aero). I have spec’s one out, drum roll please… $335,000.00 and that’s without an ADM. Based on past and current Porsche GT ADMs you’re easily talking $385K-$435K. Oooof
Would I like to see a 23 Z06 Nurburgring lap time, sure! Will it have an impact on me getting out of line for mine…no way. (In complete transparency I do own a 16 RS, which I have no plans on selling, as it’s a phenomenal car to drive.)
I do appreciate what Porsche has accomplished, but the large majority of these GT3 RSs are seldom driven and enjoyed as intended. It’s a real shame.
I’m sure, like the Porsches, few Z06’s will see the track. I recently saw a beautiful GT2 RS at the supermarket parking lot. Even Bruce (uh Caitlin) Jenner has one….
Well GM has to release the Z before it can get to the track. i think the latest excuse is the valve caps from China are on back order.
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