![[VIDEO] The Corvette ZR1X and ZR1 are Now the Fastest American Cars on the Nürburgring](https://www.corvetteblogger.com/images/content/2025/07/073125_1.jpg)
Chevrolet has officially released their lap times today for the Corvette Z06, Corvette ZR1, and the upcoming ZR1X at the Nürburgring and it’s something that the Corvette Nation has been waiting on for a long time. Setting official lap times hasn’t been a priority of the Corvette Team until this year when in late June they booked two dates for a record lap attempt, and in fact we haven’t had an official time at the Green Hell other than the 2020 Stingray’s time of 7:29.9 with Oliver Gavin behind the wheel.
But all is forgiven with today’s revealing of the lap times for these high performance C8 Corvettes!
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Chevrolet is making a big deal about doing these timed laps with their own employees instead of hiring professional drivers for the lap attempts, and why not? The team has successfully earned five lap records across some of the most important tracks in the United States with the ZR1, and their familiarity with the car is one of the reasons why GM is promoting this as a homegrown effort.
The fastest Corvette at the Nürburgring is the new performance hybrid 2026 Corvette ZR1X. GM Vehicle Dynamics engineer Drew Cattell ran the 1,250-hp ZR1X to a lap time of 6:49.275 around the 12.9-mile track. That time not only puts the ZR1X at the top of the charts for all American cars, but Drew Cattell also has the fastest lap time at the Nürburgring of any non-professional driver in the list of official laps.
Brian Wallace was the GM engineer who drove the 1,064-hp Corvette ZR1 for its record attempt at the ‘ring, and it completed the lap just behind the ZR1X with a time of 6:50.763.
And finally, Aaron Link had the responsibility for the 670-hp Corvette Z06s lap record and he completed it with a time of 7:11.826.
“No auto manufacturer has done a Nürburgring lap attempt like this before,” said GM President Mark Reuss. “From development through production, and now at the Nürburgring Nordschleife, the Green Hell, we have clearly shown there is no limit to what our GM engineers and vehicles can accomplish. These are the best Corvettes in history, period.”
GM is offering a new documentary on the Nürburgring record lap attempts called “Homegrown Speed: A Corvette Story” which goes behind the scenes with the Corvette Team as they journey from GM’s Milford Proving Ground to the track in Germany. The documentary features the three cars and drivers who set the lap times, and also features GM President Mark Reuss, Senior Vice President of Product Programs, Safety, Integration and Motorsports Ken Morris and Corvette Executive Chief Engineer Tony Roma. There are also three individual videos showing the PDR from each car. Those videos are embedded below.
According to Chevrolet, the Corvettes that performed at the Nürburgring were all U.S. production-spec vehicles with the only modifications being the safety equipment recommended by track officials. This includes a roll hoop, full containment race seats, fire extinguisher, and a six-point safety harness. All three vehicles set lap times for the Prototype/Pre-Production category since the ZR1 and ZR1X are not sold in Europe, and the Z06 was a North American variant.
The Nürburgring now maintains the records for these lap attempts since 2019 with the manufacturers responsible for providing video proof of the lap record attempt. Below are the fastest production cars on the 12.9-mile full circuit of the Nürburgring Nordschleife:
| NO. | TIME | VEHICLE | CATEGORY |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6:29.090 | Mercedes AMG One | Super Sports Car |
| 2 | 6:43.300 | Porsche 911 GT2 RS Manthey Performance Kit | Sports Car |
| 3 | 6:44.749 | Porsche 911 GT2 RS MR | Modified Vehicles |
| 4 | 6:48.047 | Mercedes AMG Black Series | Sports Car |
| 5 | 6:49.275 | Chevrolet Corvette ZR1X | Prototypes/Pre-Production Vehicles |
| 6 | 6:49.323 | Porsche 911 GT3 RS | Sports Car |
| 7 | 6:50.763 | Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 | Prototypes/Pre-Production Vehicles |
| 8 | 6:52.072 | Ford Mustang GTD | Sports Car |
GM also highlighted the experience of their drivers at the Nürburgring. Aaron Link has 800 laps at the Nürburgring while Brian Wallace has 425 laps and Drew Cattell has 600 laps. Together, the three drivers have been to the Nürburgring a combined 31 times as part of their development and testing of GM vehicles. These three drivers are the most seasoned Nurburgring-certified drivers at GM with a combined 36 years of working on Performance Cars. Brian Wallace is also responsible for leading GM’s high performance driver training program.
“We’ve created a different kind of relationship between our cars, iconic tracks, and our engineers, it is how we develop our vehicles,” said Morris. “These Corvettes weren’t piloted by pro racecar drivers. They were driven by the same engineers who designed, engineered and tuned them. Brian, Aaron and Drew have grown into world-class drivers and even better engineers. Their lap times now rank among the fastest ever recorded by non-professionals at the ‘Ring, which is so cool.”
Cool Indeed!
Congratulations to the drivers and engineers who all worked together to make these official lap times happen. For us, we are extremely grateful for Chevrolet to go out there and lay these laps down at one of the most important race tracks in the world.
2026 Corvette ZR1X – Drew Cattell – 6:49.275
2026 Corvette ZR1 – Brian Wallace – 6:50.763
2025 Corvette Z06 – Aaron Link – 7:11.826
Source:
Chevrolet
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[VIDEO] GM Drops New Nürburgring Teaser with Corvette Lap Times to be Revealed on Thursday
[VIDEO] It’s Happening! Chevy Releases a Teaser of the Corvette ZR1X at the Nürburgring
[SPIED] Corvette Engineers Return to the Nürburgring with Lap Record Runs Planned
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What an honor to be an engineer assigned to the Corvette design team.
“For a quick lap at the Nürburgring, you’ve probably experienced more in seven minutes… than most people have experienced in all their lives in the way of fear, in the way of tension, in the way of animosity towards machinery and to a racetrack.”- Jackie Stewart
Thanks,
Ray
Phenomenal, but now I’d like to see lap times with these same engines and transmissions in their C7 counterparts.
What say the rest of you?
Montana Bob
It is “cool” that GM does its lapping with engineers instead of all-out pros, but from a competitive standpoint, it’s a bit of a disservice to the cars and their international standing.
It’s like showing up to the World Baseball Classic with the Savannah Bananas while the other teams are fielding Ohtani and Judge; fun, but unlikely to win.
Awesome job using seasoned GM employees to do the job. GM marketing embarrassing the Germans and showing up Ford with their GTD Mustang.
RE:Montana Bob – Obviously you do realize that this ZR1 and ZR1X power train would not fit in a C7 design to begin with, so sorry to burst your bubble that your wish cannot physically happen and can only be a pipe dream.
C7’s are really nice looking cars and are beasts in the Z06/Z07 and ZR1 editions but the C8 is the modern evolution of this car.
Realistically the C7’s design shouldn’t even existed (according to Tadge) and are the stepping stones to what we have today.
Good times for the ZR1/ZR1X. Would a “pro” driver improve them much, if any? With the amount of laps the GM guys have on the ‘Ring, MAYBE a pro could squeak out an extra couple seconds at best? Definitely not going to drop 10 seconds here.
Weight and aero are what hurt the times though. If the coupes were FRC and not targa top, maybe a bit more carbon fiber and magnesium, and active aero they’d get into the low 6:40 or high 6:30s with the ZR1.
HappyCamper,
First, I wholeheartedly agree that it was great that gm employees piloted all three record-breaking cars as opposed to using pro-drivers for which most other manufacturers opt. As for Ford’s, the fact that that car carries an MSRP exceeding $800k means that the car isn’t in the same league. That said, that record, set by a pro-driver, if memory serves . . . still got his a__ whooped!
You are correct in that the entire drivetrain could not be adapted to a C7, (It was stupid of me to suggest that the gearbox would fit. I should have known better!), but I have to believe that the engine itself could easily be installed, perhaps requiring a bump in the hood.
As for your statement that the C7 “shouldn’t even have existed”, doesn’t make sense to me. I also find your claim very strange that Tadge would utter those words given that he was responsible for the C7 of which he HAS voiced his pride AND justifiably so. I, as the proud owner of a 2018 Z06/Z07, 3LZ Coupe, (VIN 12, BTW!), am damned glad that it does. I have discovered that there is rather large contingent of C7 owners, myself included, who do not care for the styling of the C8, (let the flaming begin!), in addition to the fact that it is not very practical as a touring car, due to the very limited and misshapen luggage area(s).
Montana Bob
The Z06 time is right on with what the German magazine Sport Auto (also great drivers that put in a ton of laps at the ‘Ring, but not professional racers) recorded.
Per our “guess C8 ‘Ring times” piece, SA is usually 8-10 seconds behind the manufacturer pros: in the 992.1 Porsche 911 GT3 RS (just 518 HP), SA turned in a 6:54.99 to Porsche’s official 6:44.848, and in the AMG GT Black Series (720 HP), Mercedes clocked a 6:43.616 while SA lagged behind with a 6:52.54.
These C8 times are really good, but compared to how the new ZR1 dominated EVERYTHING at VIR, etc., 5th and 7th place at the ‘Ring feels a little disapointing – seems like some not insignificant time was left on the table and the 1,000+ HP duo should definitely be faster than the 3RS and Black Series (AMG One is a different thing entirely) but, as the video highlights, its also a monumental task to even get cars over there for testing.
Just like Montana Bob I am a huge fanboy and proud owner of a C7. Screw anybody (including Tadge) who would dare say that the C7 shouldn’t have even existed. Where would the Corvette be now without the C7 which is the best looking Corvette generation so far? Congrats to the Corvette team for their accomplishments at Nürburgring!
Hype hype and more hype. And Babe Ruth’s home run record was broken. These cars are for the 1% not the every day Corvette owner. Let’s move on to things like better quality and affordable to the average hard working American.
So far, there is a major criticism about General Motors not using pro drivers. I’m here to tell you, these three guys are incredibly fast. Their abilities are being significantly underestimated.
During the 18 years I went to the Nurburgring, I had to defend my turf against Jan Magnesson, Johnny O’connell, and Oliver Gavin at the Nürburgring. Luckily I was able to do so.
We also had Johnny O’connell, Ron Fellows, Pilgrim, and several other pros driving with us stateside.
My point is that I personally think these guys in those cars on that track are as fast as any Corvette pro driver. It’s not a secret that Oliver Gavin was part of the Nürburgring process for the C8. I’ve seen posts, photographs, and videos with Gavin in the Z51, Z06, and ZR1.
I’m here to tell everyone I know if Gavin was significantly faster in any of those cars, he would’ve been driving. Like my experience with the pro drivers, when they looked at the data of the engineers versus the pro, I’m sure they realize they did not need to hire the pro to lay down the time because the engineers were just as fast.
Thanks, Jim
Awesome job!! The weight is probably all that’s holding them back from THE record – GT3RS, for example, has half the power but lighter by some 600 – 800 pounds.
^^^ Thanks for offering your perspective Jim! As the most experienced Corvette driver around the Nurburgring, this comment about the quality of the engineer drivers speaks volumes.
Thanks for chiming in, Mr. Mero, as a C6 guy at heart, I’m a big fan of your work!
Pardon our collective naivete, but its hard not to feel let down by 5th/7th place at the ‘Ring, especially after being denied official times since your 2012 ZR1/Z06 runs and compounded by the fact that several cars ahead on the leaderboard are significantly slower at Road Atlanta, Road America et al. Like a quarterback or coach the minday after a loss, the drivers seem like the easiest scapegoats for the very good but not great times.
I’ve heard accusations of dirty pool by Porsche at the ‘Ring for a long time, but other than something like that how would you explain the difference in our expectations- on the HPO podcast you guessed the ZR1/X could run as fast as a 6:23 – and the reality of yesterday’s 6:49 announcement?
@Chazoo
Forget the weight with 1064hp and 1250hp, its the lack of downforce at lower speeds. GT3 RS makes 902lbs at 120mph, 1900lbs at 177mph. ZR1 doesn’t make its 1200lbs of downforce until you are at or near top speed. What good is 1200lbs at 200+mph if it doesn’t help you at 60-160mph in the fast corners and turns at the ‘Ring?
Downforce is a big factor to be sure – maybe some consultation with the Cadillac Hypercar crew would help that situation.
I can’t recall ever seeing a fat kid outrun a skinny kid, though. 😊
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