11 Jul, 2008
26 Comments 
You may recall an announcement a few weeks back that the Corvette ZR1 had lapped the Nurburgring in a blistering 7:26.4 – outstripping the Nissan GT-R in the process.
Well as promised here is the in car footage from that scorching lap, with General Motors development engineer Jim Mero behind the wheel.
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July 11th, 2008 at 4:38 pm
Incredible
You would think there would have to be laws against cars like this.
Vote:July 11th, 2008 at 6:32 pm
I may be a tru blu Ford fan, but this is an awesome peice of kit! :) Though it sounds pretty mediocre compared to cars like the Ford powered Koenigsegg CCX… still, who can complain about that s/c 7.0L V8 sound?! :D
Vote:July 11th, 2008 at 6:40 pm
Bloody Hell – that’s one difficult track to set up for. Some corners this car was perfectly balanced, some it tipped into oversteer on entry, and some it ploughed like an old Holden :)
I’m convinced that this car can go faster still around this circuit, because there were quite a few missed apexes and other “mistakes”.
Please don’t get the impression I’m criticising the driver, because I’m not. That was an awsome drive.
That damn engine never went over 6500 and he only used top gear twice, and it pulls like a train from well under 3000.
Wouldn’t it be nice to have Shumi tweak the car a bit and see what might be possible :) :)
Vote:July 11th, 2008 at 8:07 pm
Ford powerd Koenigsegg CCX? the CC8S and CCR were Ford powered but for the CCX Koenigsegg designed their own engine
Vote:July 11th, 2008 at 8:22 pm
ah, then it was CCR I was after! lol
Vote:July 11th, 2008 at 10:37 pm
Despite having a 6.2L Supercharged V8 and weighing 220kgs less than the GT-R ,the ZR-1 managed what? 2.63secs faster.
Vote:It’s fast but,hardly a crushing defeat of the GT-R.
The GTR-V spec will probably beat the ZR-1.Then what for the ZR-1?.A larger capacity engine?.Develop the 6.2L to rev more than 6,500RPM?-no can’t do that,it’s a pushrod.
The interior looked cheap and the engine sound was not as good as the Z06 -forced induction tends to muffle the true sound of an engine.
I think the ZR-1 will be a fantastic straight line racer. It will most likely out accelerate a number of Europe’s and Japan’s finest but it just won’t have the finesse or class of the others.
July 12th, 2008 at 5:04 am
are you kidding? the gtr is awd, paddle shift, and full of electronic aids. Yes, nissan will have to release ANOTHER version of the car.
Vote:only a straight line racer? did you not watch the video? did it not just prove that it can mix it with the best on one of the worlds hardest tracks? did it not just BEAT the GTR by 2.63 secons?
Seriously tho, you need to give credit where credit is due, the GTR got beaten, deal with it!
July 12th, 2008 at 9:44 am
Fasthonda you obviously have never raced anything.
To shave even 1 second off an already astounding lap time is a major achievement.
To murder the time by 2.63 seconds on a lap that was far from perfect is just mind blowing.
The ZRi is in street trim as well, so dude, as Allhondasareslow said, the GTR got thrashed, deal with it.
Vote:July 12th, 2008 at 11:01 am
That was an amazing drive but there is no doubt it could do it even faster!!!!!!!!
Vote:July 12th, 2008 at 11:34 am
zr1 $103,000 US
GT-R $71,000 US
zr1 3 seconds faster around the track, no awd no paddle shift semi auto.
lets not fool our selves this will be a short visit on the top of the ladder, the GT-R v spec that will be 150kgs lighter and have more power then the current one should do the track in 7 min flat.
Vote:July 12th, 2008 at 3:05 pm
I think I gave the ZR-1 plenty of credit.The “Ring” is NOT a true racing track.Shaving over 2 secs on such a road is ok but if the lap times were held eg at the Calder race track well the time difference(2.63secs)would then be absolutely astounding.
Vote:I don’t even consider the “Ring” as the be and end all evaluation of high performance cars.
As for the electronic aids,well the reason why GM didn’t incorporate them in the ZR-1 is that they probably don’t have the technologies.
Just remember the GTR is not the true competitor to the ZR-1,it will be the GTR VSpec.
I am perfectly fine with the ZR-1 being faster than the GTR it seems that other people though have issues-maybe you should learn to”deal with it.”
July 12th, 2008 at 5:26 pm
NIK516, yeah right mate, the Vspec will do it in 7 flat. lol.
Vote:July 12th, 2008 at 8:14 pm
The tracks huge. 2.63 seconds isn’t much on something that’s 20 kms long. As for all of this “Good old muscle car beating a techno overload Japanese car” the ZR1 has carbon ceramic brakes, double-wishbone suspension front and back, MRC, and carbon fibre roof. So, the techno overload car with a supercharger beat the techno overload car with the turbo. Still, that interior reminds me of a VT commodores…
Vote:Wait for Nissan’s or for that matter ANY performance car makers response… BTW AFAIK the GT-Rs 7:29 wasn’t a perfect lap either. Still, nice car – just not the be all and end all.
July 13th, 2008 at 10:28 am
Remember also the GTR is all wheel drive, whilst the ZR1 is RWD. How would an EVO or STi handle if they were only RWD rather than all wheel drive? This is a huge difference!
Vote:July 13th, 2008 at 10:31 am
The Lexus LF-A has run an unofficial 7:24 at the ring timed by spectators. Of course this is totally unofficial. The funny thing is this car was not going around the track on a special closed day like the ZR1 or GTR but on a public use day according to Wheels mag. The LF-A had too deal with traffic. It could be slower or it could be alot faster than these 2. Can’t wait too find out!
Vote:July 13th, 2008 at 11:22 am
That ZR1 sounds great, and kudo’s to it for the lap time. I would still go the GTR though, I don’t and probably never will drive on track days…none were I live, so i will take the car that is easier to drive in all conditions and helps compensate for any mistakes that I would make considering I am not professional race driver.
But I do love the sound of a V8….
Vote:July 13th, 2008 at 12:15 pm
Tom , i think it will rumors say the gt-r v-spec will get alot more power have a lighter body , with better brakes and be more balanced.
im sure this could be done.
if im wrong im wrong who cares but i do believe it can be done.
Vote:July 13th, 2008 at 3:33 pm
i love the new GTR, but fact is it got beaten, thats that! And for those saying “but but but it has more power and is light ZR1 has in weight in power is MORE then offset by the fact the GTR doesn’t just have AWD, but the most sophistaced AWD system currently available in a road car! So the power and weight advantage the ZR1 has would be more then offset by this fact. Added to this is that the only reason the nissan is heavier is BECAUSE of this AWD system, without it the weight difference would be much smaller! So nissan chose to have the AWD system as opposed to being light weight. In motorsport if you lose you can’t say “yeah but our car is heavier!” because thats just too bad! You designed the car that way so deal with it!
And also this argument that the V-spec will be faster is also a pointless argument because the V-spec will be a stripped out model, whereas the ZR1 is still in full road trim with leather interior and all the fruit.
Nissan fans, you lost! the only thing worse then being a loser is being a sore loser! Try and remember that!!
Vote:July 13th, 2008 at 3:37 pm
ACK – your clearly not an enthousiast then! Why would you want a car that corrects your mistakes for you? Don’t you want to be able to strive towards being the best driver you can be? Because you’ll never do that if you always go for cars which will correct your mistakes.
Theres no thrill in driving a car fast if you know that your nanna could also drive it just as fast, the real thrill is knowing that YOU are the one who is driving fast! not the car..
Vote:July 13th, 2008 at 5:19 pm
Richo, yep, would love access to a track in order to become better, but alas none where I live, so its just public roads….not the best place to experience the thrill of driving fast.
I make mistakes, even professional drivers do, I like the thought of a safety net, if that keeps me alive and does not make me an enthusiast in the process, so be it.
I do agree with you re lap time…..at the end of the day the ZR1 was faster around the ring, end of story.
Vote:July 13th, 2008 at 10:18 pm
“Tom , i think it will rumors say the gt-r v-spec will get alot more power have a lighter body , with better brakes and be more balanced.
im sure this could be done.”
Of course it can, firstly it can lose those two subwoofers as standard with 11 speakers and a bloody computer for storing all your music…, i think theres a fairly large amount of guff the GTR can lose and the engine can gain on.
Richo, what are you on mate? You think the Zr1 is not a lightened/poweruped version fo a Z06 / C6? .Even if the Vspec is cut down from standard, it will still have more features than the Zr1, fact is the Zr1 is the flagship of the corvette range, with improvements in weight reduction, handling and power which in fairness the Vspec will be too.
Vote:July 14th, 2008 at 11:44 am
Would be interesting to see how their speeds compared in the turns and straights. As in, was the GTR faster through the corners but slower on the straights. As was the ZR1 slower throught the corners but made up time on the straights? Hmm…
Vote:July 19th, 2008 at 2:47 pm
like any model car, the new gtr is the begining of this generation so there is heaps more improvements to be had. like the r32 – r34 skyline GTR, same power, but whats faster around the track. due to all those little improvement that were made and changes to.
Vote:dispite the v-spec coming out, just give it a couple yeas(r36-r37, if they continue the line) and i believe bese model will be toppling even the very best super cars in the world. and then there will be the v-spec and z tunes…etc
look at the vette, the basic design hasnt really change. giving the engineeing of the car a total advantage over the new gtr. well done to gm for designing a car that can handle with power, bt dont kind your self it isnt a GTR
August 13th, 2008 at 6:06 am
fasthonda…nring not a race track??? um….dont talk anymore. youre pissing me off.
Vote:August 19th, 2008 at 9:48 am
what? nobody is going to make fun of the ZR1 due to the methods it uses to actuate it’s valves? I’m Impressed
Vote:October 23rd, 2008 at 8:21 am
True Genuine American Ingenuity! Never fails! That car is something else, I love it. And I definitely want one! Not just yet though as they are selling for about $150k right now.
Vote: