In June 2008, General Motors took a standard Chevrolet Corvette C6 ZR1 to Nurburgring, where it posted a lap time of 7 minutes, 26.4 seconds, driven by Corvette development engineer Jim Mero.
Three years on, the Corvette has returned to the 20.8 km circuit and recorded a lap time that not just eclipses that from the 2008 run, but enters the books as the sixth fastest for production vehicles – again piloted by Mero, the 2012 ZR1 covered the Nordschleife in 7 minutes, 19.63 seconds.
As was the case with the 2008 run, the 2012 car is a full production model with no performance modifications – the 1,512 kg car continues on with the LS9 supercharged 6.2 litre V8 rated at 638 hp and 819 Nm, mated to a six-speed, close-ratio manual transmission.
The Corvette does gets some upgrades for the 2012 year, in the form of new, optional Michelin Pilot Sport Cup Zero Pressure tires – the competition-oriented tires are optimised for warm, dry conditions to increase cornering and handling capability – as well as a Performance Traction Management (PTM) system, which manages torque delivery for maximum performance. Engineers estimate an 8% gain in maximum lateral acceleration to more than 1.1g, as well as improved braking distance with these in place.
Whatever it is, you can imagine the new lap time set by the Vette isn’t going to cheer up Nissan GT-R owners any, in terms of bragging rights, that is.
© 2011 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.
This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Fri, 10 Jun 11 18:01:04 +0000.
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