Corvette ZR1 Again Spotted on Nurburgring

Corvette ZR1 spotted in Germany

Will they beat the GT-R?

By Frank de Leeuw van Weenen
May 9, 2008 11:56 AM
Filed Under: American, Chevrolet

Yesterday our Autogespot buddies from Holland spotted a brand new Corvette ZR1 at a fast food restaurant just 60 km away from the Nurburgring, just two days after another ZR1 (different license plates) was spotted on the famous German race track being followed by a helicopter. Its just a matter of time now until we get to see the ZR1 set its Ring lap time.

We can only assume that GM is putting their money where their mouth is after the recent comment that the ZR1 can “take the production-car track record at any racetrack”, including the Nürburgring in Germany which was recently lapped in just 7:29 by the Nissan GT-R.

We know what the ZR1 can do at the Papenburg track in pretty much a straight line, namely 205 mph or 330 km/h, but how will it fare on the twisty and turny Nurburgring. Power comes from GM's new LS9 supercharged V8 engine and produces 638 hp / 476 kW with 819 Nm of torque.

The question remains, can the Americans beat the Japanese? And how long until the Europeans reclaim the title on their home turf?

Source: Autogespot and BridgetoGantry

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Corvette ZR1 Laps Nurburgring in 7 min 26 (206 comments
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Official, Nissan Announced GT-R Laps Nurburgring in 7m 29s (68 comments

Comments

BabyMilo

May 9, 2008 12:07 PM

i am soooo bored of this car... they should do a redesign or something but it is soooo boring

joelynn

May 9, 2008 12:11 PM

I severely doubt a crude piece of machinery like this, just a huge engine on wheels, can beat something as sophisticated and developed as the GTR

ck314

May 9, 2008 2:49 PM

just a huge engine on wheels? lol ever heard of le mans? they will beat the gt-r as long as the track is dry

Joe_Limon

May 9, 2008 3:39 PM

with carbon fiber, magneticly adjustable suspension that can shift the weight of the car (i.e. at launch over rear wheels) one of the most compact/light weight 6.3L supercharged engine, as well as numerous other techs. The zr1 is most definitely not just a huge engine on wheels. learn your facts, and don't talk out of your ass, if you do talk out of your ass the only stuff that will come out is crap.

joelynn

May 10, 2008 7:15 PM

I thought it was just a corvette with a big engine, but thats the Z06- ah ha, well if it does have those features, judging from the CTS-V's performance maybe it will beat the GTR, though the V-Spec will take the title back

NardoW12

May 9, 2008 12:14 PM

I wish the exterior of this car can be more aggressive.. The performance should be great. pretty good chance of beating the GT-R I'd say...of course, not the V-Spec one. but shouldn't GM care more about their financial problems than building a super car now?

jai_mav

May 9, 2008 3:59 PM

if thers one good thing that came out of the gt-r, its that car manufacturers no longer compete for acceleration, top speed, etc...they compete for ring lap times. naturally, while this does involve acceleration and top speed, the companies now also have to develop cars with great handling.

Xanavi23

May 9, 2008 4:50 PM

Thanx for setting them straight Joe_Limon, theres way too much hate on this car like its just another Corvette, even tho all corvettes are great cars now. The GT-R may have ran 7:29 which will give Chevy a hard time to beat...but make no mistake guys...this cars competition is the V-spec..in price, power, etc. Regardless, i think the V-spec versus the ZR1 will be a great matchup. Personally im waiting to see a ZR1, V-SPEC, Viper ACR, 997GT2, and maybe 430 Scuderia match-up. that would a very good competition on track, and before you say the Viper is crap, remember the viper was built for the track and that new ACRs have FULL racing suspension to help them as well as a FULL aerodynamic package; front splitter, rear aero wing.

Xanavi23

May 9, 2008 4:51 PM

The second part of my message wasn't directed at you Joe, no disrespect.

wolff

May 9, 2008 4:53 PM

beat the time of 7:29?? i guess not.. might get close to the 7 minute mark though!!

Joe_Limon

May 9, 2008 6:16 PM

the regular z06 was in the 7 minute mark

wolff

May 9, 2008 7:52 PM

i doubt!!

Joe_Limon

May 9, 2008 11:06 PM

7:42.9 Chevrolet Corvette C6 Z06 505 hp / 1450 kg Jan Magnussen 2005 Motor Trend[10] Muggy conditions

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nordschleife_fastest_lap_times

jamaicandude

May 9, 2008 7:14 PM

It might just beat the regular GT-R's time... and even then I think it's chances are slim. I don't think it'll come close to touching the V-Spec, since that was already unofficially clocked in the 7:25s and since that time hasn't officially been announced, I'm lead to believe there's more to come. Sure, with a perfect track anything's possible but that just proves that the GT-R is more of an everyday supercar than the ZR1 will ever be. They're very different machines, and I respect them both... a lot. But to me the GT-R's performance is more accessible. It won't be as fun as the Corvette, but in everyday situations (and by fun I mean rowing your own gears and being able to smoke your tires), it'll be faster almost every time. And that's cool for somebody like me. When I want fun, I get on my modified quad bike and head for the nearest patch of dirt... I doubt I'd have more fun in any car.

shaahinmt

May 9, 2008 7:42 PM

"spotted a brand new Corvette ZR1 at a fast food restaurant just 60 km away from the Nurburgring"... LOL...that shows how american this car is...the sat-nav only shows fast food restaurant = i bet as all the americans with their Burgurs, the driver is fat, so he cant drive fast...lol...

NISMO

May 9, 2008 8:27 PM

Sure glad u don't over-generalize or anything...and while your at it, why don't you copy some more lines from TopGear...

Xanavi23

May 9, 2008 10:05 PM

...And the ignorant comment of the week award goes to........

shaahinmt

May 10, 2008 1:03 AM

yes, yes...what ever...Top Gear lies and "over-generalize"s stuff...and it has nothing to do with the fact two-thirds of U.S. adults are overweight or obese. But there is another good possiabality which is even more fun!!! : the manegers from chevrollate had told the driver to drive as fast as possiable 4 any price...so he drove 60 Km to have his last meal=cheez-Burgur at an american fast food restaurant...lol more!!!

ck314

May 10, 2008 4:41 AM

stupid 4th world stoned rejects

gmfan09

May 11, 2008 4:11 AM

Just when i thought some of the people on this site couldn't get any more ignorant shaahinMT goes and proves me wrong. Your a moron mr. or mrs. shaahinMT.

shaahinmt

May 11, 2008 9:10 PM

yea yes yes whatever...and u r a fat cheez eating american which is wose :)

gmfan09

May 12, 2008 1:41 AM

Your so dumb its not even offensive anymore is just stupid funny.

samuelzeus

May 10, 2008 4:44 AM

They already said zr1 will beat GT-R on the 'ring record so now they must do it.

phobos

May 10, 2008 8:49 AM

...the fight will be between V - Spec vs ZR1..not between a 480hp 75000 USD and a 630hp 100000 USD - but a standard GT - R will give ZR1 a hard fight - i hope these ZR1 fans can put their money where their mouth is...and magneticly adjustable suspension ? it's not that special, few car already had it for years...what's next ?

samuelzeus

May 10, 2008 12:16 PM

Then I'd say let ZR1 have a fun with beating cheap stock model and V-Spec will challenge Pagani Zonda C9.

Xanavi23

May 10, 2008 4:12 PM

Make no mistake...the ZR1 isn't just a Z06 with 630hp, it will benifit from serious modifications. The ZR1 will have no trouble with the GT-R, its true battle will lie only with the V-spec regardless of Ring times held by the GT-R.

Joe_Limon

May 10, 2008 9:58 PM

lots of cars already have carbon fiber and really good engines as well, so why not rip on those points? Pretty much every car on the road shares technology with other cars. It is the fact that this corvette incorporates the best technologies on the market that makes it more then just a car with a big engine.

NISMO

May 11, 2008 5:12 AM

Im no GM fan by any stretch of the imagination, but just to throw something in here...I'm not 100% positive, but i think magnetic ride suspension was originally developed by GM and they sold Ferrari and the others the rights to use it.

Joe_Limon

May 12, 2008 11:21 PM

soft suspension= comfortable ride, stiff suspension=handling, and your saying the GTR has both while the vette has neither. Then you go on to say that the tires are filled with nitros... no they are filled with nitrogen, which is a non flammable gas. And probably about 90% of new cars to hit the road have that from the factory.

lucifa

May 11, 2008 1:03 PM

sorry, correct me if im wrong, but dont the europeans still hold the title? the zonda f??

lucifa

May 11, 2008 1:06 PM

wait my bad - forgot about the new time by the v-spec!

mps

May 12, 2008 11:28 AM

That's estimated. So yes, Zonda is first still.

4rings

May 14, 2008 7:35 AM

A little research goes a long way, boys. Magnetic susp was CREATED by GM. Im no fan of GM, but, give credit where credit is due. At least the Vette shows that they are at the very least trying to make respectable cars. As for ShaahinMT...your spelling and grammar make me proud. How did you go from drawing symbols and crap in caves to getting online? Now THAT's progress! All you need now is instuction on using spell check on your Commodore 64. Back on topic...I still preffer the GT-R,but, the Vette imo is headed in a better direction than where it usually went. As for the comments about Big motor on wheels... Is that not the method Mercedes uses with EVERY AMG? How big is the C-Class, and it carries a 6.2? New M5 5.5 V-10? Im a German car fan, but, it is what it is

JizOnEuropeaons

May 16, 2008 9:54 AM

This place is full of Idiots! The GTR was just slightly faster than the Z06 on the track, I just read in I think it was motortrend or one of the others, (this was a head to head contest, not a paper one) not only did the Z06 have the same 0-60 time as the GTR but it pulled away by the 1/4 mile mark. By 130mph the Z06 left the GTR in it's dust all the way past 175 by a wide margin. Why would any of you Idiots think that the ZR1 wont outrun the GTR. Just flat out haters on this board that know nothing about performance.

jim

May 16, 2008 10:13 AM

There are few that doubt the performance of the ZR1 in a straight line, but that doesn't mean the the ZR1 could meet the performance of the GT-R on the race track which requires much more than just straight line speed.

JizOnEuropeaons

May 16, 2008 10:31 PM

How many people ar going to take these cars on a track? Most likely they will meet at a stop light! And if the Z06 smoked the GTR in the 1/4 mile, what do you think the ZR1 will do to it? You can talk track racing all day long, but when it comes down to it, it's going to be a street race in the end! Victory ZR1 easily.

JizOnEuropeaons

May 17, 2008 12:35 AM

For those that don't know, the ZR1 is far more capable than the Z06. The ZR1 brakes are far superior than the Z06's (much larger carbon ceramic rotors with far superior calipers with more pad area than the Z06's). The tires on the ZR1 are not run flat tires like what are on the Z06, which was a big handicap for the Z06 at Nurburgrin. The ZR1's tires are specially designed by Michelin. The Pilot Sport 2's are 285/30ZR19's front, 335/20ZR20 rears compared to the run flat Goodyears (which are much heavier than the Michelins) on the Z06 are 275/35ZR18's in front and 325/30ZR19's out back. These tires were designed just for the ZR1 and are wider and have far superior grip than the Z06's. Suspension on the ZR1 is setup for the track more than what you can dial in with the Z06's suspension. The ZR1 has a setting that will not compromise handling for the comfort of the ride (No comfort at all, just how it has to be for the track) also, the fact that the ZR1 has over 130 more horsepower than the Z06 makes me think that the ZR1 should have no problem beating 7m29s time of the GTR. The Z06 and ZR1 are completely different vehicles on the inside, they just happen to look alike on the outside ;-)

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