Chevrolet Corvette ZR1X Crowned Fastest American Car At The Nürburgring

The Chevrolet Corvette ZR1X is now the fastest American car at the famed Nürburgring. GM set this record recently in a special effort involving a trio of said new 'Super-Vettes'.

Late last week, American automakers Chevrolet (General Motors - GM) revelaed that its new and electrified halo supercar – the new Corvette ZR1X – has charted a new record at the infamous Nürburgring Nordschleife course in Germany.

Specifically, the new Chevrolet Corvette ZR1X has dethroned the rivalling Ford Mustang GTD for the crown of ‘Fastest American Car’ at the famed 20.8 KM-long course, which is also known amongst enthusiasts as ‘The Green Hell’.

The record bid saw Chevrolet field a trio of its new Corvette ZR1X halo supercar mentioned to perform hot runs on the course. Resulting from which were some impressive laptimes, the fastest of which being logged at 6 mins 49.274 secs (6:49.274).

Said time, logged in by GM Vehicle dynamics engineer Drew Cattell, saw the new ‘Super-Vette’ beat the Mustang GTD by 2.8 secs. However, said time still puts said new halo variant of the ‘Vette, which has 1,250 HP, slower than some notable European machines.

This specific record was previously held by the Ford Mustang GTD pictured, which is essentially a road-legal track-honed special with 800 HP on tap.

Key amongst the latter is the now-obsolete Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series, which logged in a laptime of 6:48.047 in 2020, followed by the Manthey-kitted Porsche 911 GT2 RS that logged in a claimed 6:43.3 laptime in 2021.

We’ll also point out that both the Mercedes-AMG and Porsche mentioned boasted lower headlining figures versus the Corvette ZR1X – 730 HP and 690 HP respectively.

And before you ask, the outright lap record at this famed German course currently belongs to the Mercedes-AMG One hypercar, which logged in a blistering laptime of 6:29.09 back in 2023.

Surprisingly, GM's record bid saw it employ its own engineer drivers instead of top-flight pros or circuit specialists. The firm also used actual US market-spec units primed with optional carbon wheels and Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2R tyres.

Nevertheless, the results charted were impressive, especially given the fact that the Corvette ZR1X costs nearly half what the Mustang GTD commands –MSRPs read at US$173,300 (approx. RM734,185) and US$328,000 (approx. RM1.39 million) respectively.

Notable too was the fact that Chevrolet had roped in their own engineer drivers instead of top-flight professionals or circuit specialists for this record run – a typical step most other manufacturers take when undertaking record attempts at this course.

Notable too were how close to ‘stock’ the cars used in this record run were. All three Corvette ZR1X units deployed during this attempt were actual US market-spec production units fitted with optional carbon wheels and Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2R tyres.

"No auto manufacturer has done a Nürburgring lap attempt like this before," touts 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,” remarked GM president Mark Reuss.

“These are the best Corvettes in history, period,” adds Reuss further, who also stressed “No auto manufacturer has done a Nürburgring lap attempt like this before.”