As we were soaking up as much C8 ZR1 content as humanly possible a couple of weeks ago, a line in Car and Driver’s print review piqued our interest more than a little. While reviewing the newest Corvette’s outrageous capabilities – quickest RWD car ever tested, 233 top-speed, etc. – Ezra Dyer snuck in the following blurb, “and a yet-undisclosed Nürburgring Nordschleife lap time that’s likely to embarrass the $300,000-plus Mustang GTD more than a little,” that made it seem like the ‘Ring was a topic of conversation at the launch events.
Fast forward to today, and Tony Roma’s Corvette Team is back in Germany at the world’s most notorious track, and they have more than just a ZR1 on hand. They also brought along the yet-to-be-revealed worst-kept-secret in the industry: the Corvette “ZORA” (or ZR1e/ZR1X?) which is set to marry the ZR1’s monster twin-turbo LT7 with the E-Ray’s electrified front axle to create an all-wheel-drive hyper ‘Vette with at least 1,224 horsepower on tap, plus a couple of 670-horse Z06s for good measure.
Today, we thought it would be interesting to take a look at the competition and guess where each of the three Z-badged Corvettes might land on the leaderboard of the 12.94-mile benchmark road course in Porsche’s backyard. Before we get to Porsche, though, that pesky overpriced Mustang needs to be dealt with. The $327,000 pre-options GTD ‘Stang became the first car from an American manufacturer (though it’s built in Canada on the same Multimatic line that did the Ford GT) to complete a sub-7-minute lap of the so-called “Green Hell,” besting the 7:01.3 of the $145,000 2017 Dodge Viper ACR-E with times of 6:57.685 and, later 6:52.072 this year.
Corvette Z06 – Our Guess: 6:50
We don’t think Chevrolet will have to go very far up the pyramid in order to take the Mustang down a few notches. Speaking of not being whelmed, German publication Sport Auto lapped a Z at the ‘Ring in a slightly demoralizing 7:10.51 back in November when they complained about having Too-Tall Jones as a fifth gear, ruining all momentum on the back straight. We know that GM was listening because they commented that they hit the same wall in 5th when they had the LT6 screamer abroad during development testing. Assuming they did something about that Achillies heel gearing, and they have a pro behind the wheel, the Z should be A LOT faster on official GM track time. Sport Auto writers turn a lot of tires at the ‘Ring and get some impressive times, but they do tend to lag behind factory drivers by about ten seconds – with the 992.1 Porsche 911 GT3 RS, SA turned in a 6:54.99 to Porsche’s official 6:44.848, and in the AMG GT Black Series, Mercedes clocked a 6:43.616 while SA lagged behind with a 6:52.54. Stateside, the Z06 trailed the Black Series and the 3RS by 1.6 and 1.4, respectively, during the most comparable database of lap times: Car and Driver’s annual Lightning Lap on Virginia International Raceway’s 4.1-mile Grand Course (all times done by journalists). A similar per-mile gap at the ‘Ring would yield something around 6:48.66 for the Z. This is far from an exact science, and there are a thousand variables at play, but two things are true: 1. Ford making an elitist $300k version of its working-class hero really grinds our gears, and 2. Z07-equipped C8s have proven incredibly capable. This time is ambitious, but we’d love nothing more than to see the ‘Vette that starts more than $200,000 lower be the one that gets to collect the GTD’s pelt because the ‘Stang won’t be even worth mentioning in the same breath as the other two!
Corvette ZR1 – Our Guess: 6:35
The first Corvette with four-digit HP is tougher to speculate about because there just isn’t much track data out there yet. What we do know is that GM engineer and development driver, Aaron Link piloted the ZR1 to a new track record at VIR, beating the McLaren Senna’s mark by 2.6 seconds. As the Senna doesn’t have an official ‘Ring time, his 2:32.2 also puts the mid-engine ZR1 4.8 seconds in front of the previously-mentioned Black Series AMG, which equates to an apples-to-pears (not as dissimilar as oranges) 15.15-second gap between the two, or a 6:28.466, at the ‘Ring. That incredible ET would actually beat the current production car record holder, the Mercedes-AMG One. That car – which Rick Hendrick also owns – is an ultra-limited (just 275 will be built), extremely expensive ($2.72 million) hyperhalo car powered by an F1-derived 1.6L turbo V6 that spins to 11,000 RPM with four electric motors that combine to send 1,048 ponies to all four wheels. Even though it is made entirely of carbon fiber, the batteries, AWD system, and other exotic features like active vents and aero push its weight to a claimed 3,737 pounds. While that’s in the same weight class as the ZR1, the ‘Vette is around 200 lbs. heavier, and we are going to pay the One some respect by handicapping the RWD American with fixed aero by some seven odd seconds to 6:35 (still ahead of Porsche’s best, the Manthey Racing version of the 991.2 GT2 RS at 6:38.8), leaving a little room for the 1,200+ horse hybridized version to take the cake, so to speak.
Corvette ZORA (ZR1e/ZR1X) – Our Guess: 6:26
Now, this one’s a total crap shoot, as we don’t have any hard data on the car we’ve been calling “ZORA” for years, but we’re willing to give it a shot. Our main question with this car boils down to how much faster could a ZR1 with the addition of AWD and an extra 160 horses/125 lb-ft from the E-Ray bits – and the associated weight penalty – possibly be? Again, it isn’t a perfect comparison – wide body vs. original width, different tires, different days, etc. – but, once again, the difference between the Stingray and E-Ray at Lightning Lap is the best indicator available to us, along with the mathematical methodology used above. In 2021, a Z51-equipped C8 turned in a 2:49.0 at LL. Last year, the E-Ray shaved that number down to 2:45.9, a difference of 3.1 seconds over a 4.1-mile lap. Expand that variance to the Nordschleife, round it, apply it to our bet for the ZR1, and you have our guesstimation for the ZORA AKA the new King of the ‘Ring.
Source:
Photos by Stefan Baldauf / SB-Medien
Related:
Chevrolet to Introduce a New Corvette on June 17th
We’ve been Calling it the ZORA for Years, but Chevy Refers to the Ultimate AWD Corvette as the ZR1e
[SPIED] Corvette Engineers Return to the Nürburgring with Lap Record Runs Planned
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A real good time would be 6:27….
Just take the best pro driver from Corvette Racing , not a GM “engineer ” and put him in the car and get it done! Thank You!
Chevy X teaser / Could just be the Nurburgring lap time for the ZR1 / ZR1e / ZR1x. 6:17.25
The ‘Zora’ times against the ZR1 will be intetesting. My understanding is the EV motor cuts out at about 140MPH. So extra weight works against on a high speed circuit like the ‘ring.
BUT, faster speeds through tight turns with higher exit volocity speeds an advantage for the AWD aspect of the EV front drive.
Hmm. Intetesting conundrum that will only be answered ‘when the rubber meets the road”.
I’ve done very similar math comparing ‘Ring times to VIR laps, @ “America’s ‘Ring”.. (3.3mi, technical, high speed track, w/ fair testing, oem support, several sets of tires.. 330+ cars, 16+ yrs).
The C7z/C8 Z07’s beat multiple cars that run 6:50-6:55 ‘Ring times. And C7/C8 ZR1 beat several cars in the 6:45 range.🤷♂️
EVEN the crazy-high-drag C7 Z07 ran a 7:10 at the Ring😅. And C7 ZR1 was capable of 6:57 when GM added its best sectors. (w/ limited time before it’s crash).
✅️So based on my math, conservatively.✅️
(With good laps)..
The C8 Z07 should do 6:50-6:58 (6;56)?
C7 ZR1 should do 6:47-6:55 (6;53)?
And C8 ZR1 might do 6:36-6:44 (6;42)?
And the ’25 CT5v BW precision,
should do 7:15-7:23 (7;19)?
But I divided top ‘Ring times, by their VIR times (in seconds).. And the positions match-up on each track. Most of the car’s pro ‘Ring times = 2.57-2.63x their VIR time. (Math at the bottom)
Times: V.I.R. /// Nurburgring
(1st) C8 ZR1 ztk. 2;32.3 / 6:42?
(2nd) Mclaren Senna 2;34.9 /
(3rd) AMG GT Black. 2;37.0 / 6;43.6 (x2.57)
(4th) 992 GT3RS 2;37.2 / 6;44.8 (x2.575)
(4th) C7 ZR1 ZTK (A8) 2;37.2 / 6:53?
(6th) GT2RS Weissach 2;37.8 /
(7th) Mclaren 765LT 2;38.4 /
(8th) C8 Z07 2;38.6 / 6:56?
(10th) C7 Z07 2;39.7 / 7:05?
(11th) 992 GT3 Manthey 2;39.8 / 6;50.7 (x2.57)
(14th) 992 GT3. 2;40.6 / 6;55.3 (x2.585)
(17th) 991.2 GT3rs 2;41.6 / 6;56.4 (x2.576)
(22nd) 918 Spyder 2;43.1 / 6;57.0 (x2.556)
(25th) Huracan Perf 2;44.0 / 6;52.0 (x2.512)
(27th) Viper ACRx 2;44.2 / 7;01.0 (2.563)
(30th) C7 Z07 (bad laps) 2;44.6 / 7;10.0 (x2.612)
(32nd) ZL1 1LE 2;45.7 / 7;16.0 (x2.63)
(38th) C8 E-ray. 2;45.9 / 7;16?
(42nd) C7 Grand Sport 2;47.1 / 7;17?
(47th) ’25 CT5v BW 2;47.9 / 7:19?
(63rd) 2012 Zr1 2;50.7 / 7;19.0 (x2.57)
Math example: 2012 ZR1 on cup tires did a 7;19 (439 seconds).. and a 2;50.7 (170.7 sec) @ VIR.
So 439sec ÷ 170.7sec = a multiple of (x2.57).
They will be lucky to break 7:00!
Jesus… talk about absurd and completely unwarranted expectations. GM engineer team on suicide watch reading web comments.
GM already ran the C8 ZO7 and they got a 7:10 same as German Sport Auto. That’s the time. The denial from the bowtie crew is like unworldly.
ZR1 is essentially a ZO7 with more HP. HP isn’t going to get you records.
Good work, Austin. Thanks for chiming in! It would be unbelievably cool if the ‘Vette team’s new guard got us times for the C7s, too. That is more than unlikely, but I’d love to see the Percision Blackwing (Tomy Roma’s baby) join the C8s for the planned time attack in a few days!
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