2012 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 hits the Nürburgring

To demonstrate the improvements on the 2012 Corvette, Chevrolet has returned to the Nürburgring with the range-topping ZR1.
As the video shows, the car - which features a supercharged 6.2-liter V8 engine with 638 hp (476 kW / 647 PS) and 604 lb-ft (818 Nm) of torque - lapped the legendary Nordschleife in 7:19.63 which is more than six seconds faster than the previous Corvette record that was set back in 2008.
To get the improved time, the ZR1 was equipped with the new PDE performance package which has a full-width rear spoiler and Michelin Pilot Sport Cup Zero Pressure tires that are "optimized for warm, dry conditions to increase cornering and handling capability."
www.worldcarfan...

[@roybatty-]

love it or hate it, you can't get around the fact that the ZR1 is very fast

[@NickWayne100]

This guy has some serious balls pulling over 1g at 180mph

[@goldenmanuever1176]

Agree. Giant brass ones. The car took a curve at 180MPH. I wouldn't even do that in a straight line!

[@melonhusk]

I wouldn't take a curve in a straight line either.

[@Pow3rus]

It's a bit messy. I wouldn't take that much risk even in a simulator lol This guy have balls

[@BABYBOYNUNI]

Pow3rus pussy

[@888jimm]

Wevos de penos ;)

[@genericdenizen1]

Thank you Mr Tadge Juechter and Corvette Team for working so hard to bring a supercar to dealerships that regular people (albeit with good credit) can purchase. Finally bought a new 2019 Corvette Grand Sport, with a MANUAL TRANSMISSION, and it's a fantastic car!

[@Antifaith29]

This guy drives better than I play a damn game. In the same car I can only manage 7:42 on this track.

[@traceypotts9425]

Your shit

[@XCougar85X]

Taking that corner in the long straight without lifting just blew me away. You really need to know how much grip you have there. Nice run.

[@sublimejdm]

Incredible tires !

[@notophilip]

I don't see why people are surprised or offended by the performance aspects of the ZR1. It has the one of the most advanced suspension systems ever put into a road car, and brakes that give it one of the lowest 60-0 braking distances of any production car. Match that with a powerful "antiquated" engine, and light body of around 3300 pounds. Everybody has their own favorites, I certainly do, but give credit where credit is due.

[@Djsand1000]

Nitrogen keeps your tires from exploding when racing. It also gives more accurate pressures and doesn't expand like compressed air. It is a good thing to have in passenger cars because it can improve gas mileage and keep your tires from losing air over time.

[@twoweeledsoto6072]

Why all the aggression? LOL!! I'm sure it wasn't the first time this driver had visited this track. This guy is in the zone! Wow! He is where you wanna be. Total concentration and relaxed.

[@MrPorschefanatic]

this sound is amazing !

[@HiTechOilCo]

What a beautiful handling car! Well done Corvette engineers! Bravo! It even comes stock with synthetic oil in the engine! Hats off to you!

[@GameBenchers]

Takes some serious balls to drive like that. Much respect.

[@samcwach4475]

listen to that beauty purr

[@Arcaniic]

specifically this part "The 2013 GT-R has a reworked 6-cylinder dual turbocharged engine, and a retuned suspension, amongst other refinements. In internal tests, the new GT-R rounded the Nordschleife in 7 minutes 18 seconds" and check the date of the article it was 2012. The 7:19.1 was run in late 2012 by a 2013 model.

[@n3Auspithound]

What a beautiful run I love this car and the GTR are both my favorite track monsters both are such beautiful cars.

[@n3Auspithound]

In their own ways of course.

[@V8Supercar1]

@xilix: This is a result of all the racing and testing the Corvette racing team does with tires and suspension adjustments. The Corvette racing team have been very successful this year. (american petit lemans and the 24 hours at le mans) to exact.

[@enzo_marios]

How did they manage to race the 2012 Corvette in 2011 at the Nurburg? Mindblowing!!!

[@godbelow]

+enzo I drove my 2010 BMW out of the lot in 2009. Magic.

[@V8Supercar1]

@Gurubashy: It may not be "pure stock" by your definition, but it is completely street legal and "factory stock" meaning you can buy this car as is from the dealership.

[@KingJT80]

@Janusha you are right about the cage, but the tires are an option. ps2 cup zero pressure. they are on the website.

[@SuperBulldogs11]

from covette lover 1953 to 2012 plus. all I can say to a lot of you is to put up or shut up. I have owned 3 - 69-78 and 92 the worst corvette I ever seen was a wonderful and each one was a blast to drive after I nursed each one. Loved this video. Bob B in Nevada

[@tousshahedian6803]

Brilliant driving and control

[@FIREPHILSPENCER]

Corvette ZR1 is hands down America's best sports car.

[@Gurubashy]

@Filipovicvuk The vette in this video is not a pure stock. the vette had a full-width rear spoiler and Michelin Pilot Sport Cup Zero Pressure tires

[@ScoobyDigites]

i seriously want one of these

[@8000RPMS]

wow!!!! that's a proper V8 right there!

[@ridgeline006]

zr1 is a beast and it dont need AWD or four camshaft america still the strongest country in the world

[@TheWolfMatt]

Can't wait to see what the all new C7 is capable of at the ring.

[@KnightDriveTV]

(Part 2) Porsche has developed the 911 chassis for 50+ years, I think they can handle their own. They could run the same tire as the ZR1 if they chose. Lastly, you don't quote the fact the cage and data equipment weighed over 175lbs,so I think putting in a safety seat is fair.The ZR1 test car is heavier than a stock ZR1. Finally, check the recent motor trend article. The STOCK ZR1 broke the production car record at Leguna Seca now as well. They got that car straight from a local dealership.

[@ASSHOLELA]

@Filipovicvuk well, it may be a race version, but that does not deny that (a variant) of the lfa is faster than a corvette around a ring. Perhalps when corvette releases a track version we can compare the laptimes again.

[@AnonymoussourceL0L]

@xilix Ignore Janusha. The nurburgring has track which is not level, meaning they are slight tilted inwards, creating more G. If it was a straight, level pavement then yes G goes down. But if you go around something shaped more conical, then you produce more G.

[@daltonauto]

Awesome driver!

[@phpeters87]

BTW, this obviously applies to all cars being tested and not just the ZR-1 so the Lap Times will reflect the 656' discrepancy and the difference between 12.944 mile long track and the 12.8 miles that "Supercars" are timed and tested. Sharp eye to catch that and I wasn't aware of that fact and had to Google it.

[@westy44cal]

7:20 183MPH through a turn in a production car with a 5 year 100K warranty. How anyone can not understand why this car is at the absolute top of the bang for buck food chain is beyond me. GTR is 2nd IMO. What a great time we live in in automotive history. Now we have 662HP stock Mustangs rolling around for less than 60 grand!

[@NightBeast3]

@Gurubashy - If you actually watched and listened to the video, then you would have noticed they said it was 100% stock including the Michelin Pilot Sport Cub Zero Pressure tires. In fact, they said it was just like it would be received by a customer with the exception of some safety equipment that was added.

[@GordanMFreeman]

In my opinion, there is no better brand of car's in the world than the Chevy Corvette, it has been doing what every other muscle car is now trying to do for a long time now, and it can retain its value more than any of the other's.

[@MrThatguy122]

thats it take that 4inch exhaust, you like that. youre the type of person that i love to mess with..... i thank you'

[@melpomony]

Japanese sports cars are my favorite type of cars but this is the only american car i ve liked since I was little. This ZR1 is beast love it

[@JYKDutchYT]

Did that baby just took off? WOW!

[@kins888]

Sounds like a good advert for Michelin Pilot Sport Cup tyres. Nice vid and sweet driving though :)

[@ChillX2-1000]

Fast lap! Buddy pushed that thing just about as hard as you possibly could!

[@no1dejfan]

It wasnt struggling, he left it in 5th gear, there is about another 10 mph left in 6th since they used the shorter ratio gear box.

[@iPROFITDON]

But you can also ignore the fact that the GTR that ran that 7:19 wasn't stock. Or the fact that the TA is even faster around the track than the ACR, with a full "luxurious" interior, without massive aero or semi slicks.

[@carbonfiber1995]

@Janusha Well im not flagwaving i have just seen the new designs its astonishing

[@KnightDriveTV]

Honestly bud...this is a pretty poor response. In addition, I've noticed you in multiple videos of this car spouting incorrect information. You have a right to your opinion, but please at least base it upon facts and not false speculation. #1, the fact the ZR1 has a V8 is irrelevant. The GTR has a 6cyl and look at it's times. It all comes down to what you build. #2, the ZR1's tires are Michelin PS Cups..the stock tire. Just cause you call them slicks doesn't mean they are...they are DOT legal

[@morelax14]

Anyone else notice that the clock stops at a spot much earlier than when it started? It isn't even close. Probably a difference of 3-4 seconds.

[@Curveball]

I guess you missed the part where the tires on the GT-R are a special designed tires just for the GT-R, and another factor, they are around $625 per tire.

[@flustercluck420]

that car is nuts

[@habsa420]

this zr1 isnt stock. it has a walkie talkie mounted on the inside. That adds some serious power.

[@sinisterkid1976]

They need to put this guy in the ZL1 Camaro so it can do better than 7:41. This guy knows how to drive.

[@livalittle100]

I wish Corvette ZR1 can beat the GT2 RS one day. Then I will be happy. I still love the ZR1. It just needs to be the best production car!!!!

[@iwasadeum]

Vette is also a standard manual - do you know how much time is lost on shifting alone? It is losing roughly 200-300 milliseconds per shift. That means if the Vette even had a 100ms semi-auto like the GT-R, it would gain several seconds a lap on the Nurburgring. It loses 2-3 tenths every shift, and on a track like the Nurburgring where there is CONSTANT shifting, a semi-auto box alone is easily worth 5+ seconds, and added aero and stiffness worth another 5+ seconds.

[@horayman]

Wow, this made me realise how fast a Lexus LFA Nur edition really is.

[@SidewaysGts]

@TheDubeo "It has to run on street tires..because its a production car street legal record..hence street legal tires" Of course it does- But I dont recall stating otherwise.

[@stephenn.9958]

This guy can drive..

[@rishab155]

@neerredd you're right ... i also would prefer manual but maybe a flappy paddle dual clutch could improve the numbers !

[@enviousleaf123]

dude impressive.. so this is how videogame looks like in real life

[@theGoogol]

@fokGoogol : Plus ... the 7:24.22 time of the GT-R was in semi-wet conditions.

[@ericlathamable]

what a great driver

[@theGoogol]

@EndofDays213 : Same point can be made for engines ... we're still talking about a 6.2 liter against a 3.8 liter. And the R35 is a lot easier to drive thanks to it's electronics. Not everybody is a racing driver and tests show that the ZR1 is increasingly harder to drive (for the average Joe) when you're flooring it (around corners). So yes ... I think those electronics are there for a reason, they make the car safer & go a lot faster. :)

[@blaw11b]

@Janusha This is simple, you check the track website or contact them for the record times. gm didn't record the times the track operaters did.The "ring" is a public track anyone can take any car, to the nurburgring and get timed.You just pay the track fees and your good to go.Beside have you followed endurance racing at all for the past decade. Since 1999 corvette has bee THE DOMINENT CAR in the le man series,beating porsche,ferrari aston mar.etc.. of vids of this car on the ring

[@Filipovicvuk]

@Gurubashy Michelin Pilot Sport Cup Zero Pressure tires will be standard on 2012. vesrion. I honestly didn't know about spoiler...

[@Curveball]

That's true....I didn't think of it's unfair radio wave advantage.

[@CapJSs]

Finally that have shown arrival epic rear-wheel the car, instead of a shit on the automatic device and with a full drive

[@Troyc20]

I would like to cordially invite the narrator to shut hell up and let us listen to that beast.

[@07Z06ss]

@Janusha You keep talking about speed yet the Nurburgring is the benchmark track to test the handling of the worlds best performance vehicles, and American cars are in the top 2% of fastest lap times for stock production street legal vehicles.

[@Inklebonker1]

still performance tires, and its aided with a splitter, rear spoiler and cage.

[@derbigpr500]

This is great! Its so fun to watch. I wish Ferrari, Porsche or other european manufacturers would focus a bit more on Nurbrugring and do official tests with their cars, like they do with Corvette. It would be nice to see real lap board with official times done by prof. drivers, instead of having lap times done by car owners. By the way, these tires are freaking amazing, the car pulls 1,7G in some corners, thats like having semi-slick racing tires.

[@t-jh4236]

The europeans do run/benchmark their cars there. Not sure what you are seeing when you look at official times. Perhaps you are confusing privateers with "owners" running their cars at the track.

[@carbonfiber1995]

@Janusha NO they are making a new design it will come out next year

[@no1dejfan]

I always said this, i understand GM taking Mero to the track for understanding what needs tuned and tweaked on the ZR1's suspension, but i believe that they should have brought Jan Magnussen for the official time. There is a video of him taking the original ZR1 around and supposedly knocked off a 7:22 while negating traffic with a passenger. and even if he didnt it still would be best to take a professional to run the lap.

[@eric1138]

I was never sure about running DOT Competition tires like the Michelin Pilot Sport Cup ZP on the street. They only have a tread wear rating of 80, which is typical for a DOT COMP. My understanding also is that they are more prone to heat cycle than your Extreme performance tire which one usually chooses for dual street/ trackday duty.

[@phpeters87]

Astute observation by morelax 14: From Wikipedia* Full Lap A full lap of the Nordschleife is 12.944 miles long. Most laps are completed 656' shorter for safety reasons. Sport Auto Lap During industry test sessions in which Sport Auto records its "Supertest", the track can not be traveled at full speed past "Tribüne 13" in order to allow safe access from the old exit/entrance. Sport Auto Supertests cover about 12.8 miles, averaging a 7 second shorter lap time. *Edited to fit YT text box.

Looks great. Wonder what the second lap would be.. Jim did great. I'm sure he would love to do that second lap too.

[@paladain55]

@HiTechOilCo yeah, on all gm products youre only allowed to use equivalent or better

[@SidewaysGts]

@ChristoMafesto "Does not look legit. The timer starter at a different point , then where the timer stopped" The starting/stopping points used in this video are relatively standard points due to where you enter/exit the track when youve got use of the full lap. These points have become so commonly used by most sources that theyre fairly standard now when talking about lap times. The times you see for the Vettes, Viper, Lfa, Gtr, any *many* others, all use these points.

[@HiTechOilCo]

@ScoobyDigites - That's a great attitude to have! Hats off to you! I sent you a friend request, so I can send you an important PM.

[@07Z06ss]

@Janusha Cars did do very quick laps back in the 70s and such on the Nurburgring but they were not stock production, they were full out race cars....todays cars that are stock production (meaning the way it comes off of the factory line) are tearing up the Nurburgring and the American cars are on top.

[@neerredd]

@Janusha those slicks are now optional, so no

[@ClaudiaShifferLA]

I think that Jim Mero is one of the best drivers that can drive faster in Nurburgring, of course the car is the most important thing, but if the driver is one of the best he can get a few seconds less in the lap record.

[@sw1000xg]

ZR1 has a splitter with brake ducts, and the ZR1 was supposed to have a cage too!

[@V8Supercar1]

@Janusha: Its not about it being barely legal race ready slick tires. Its about them being street legal which of course they are. Its like you are jealous just because they are using a better product or something.

[@hassoun6]

OMG going around those tight turns at 100-160km/h!!!

[@Arcaniic]

I just linked you an article from the chief engineer of nissan. who said the 2013 model ran a 7:19.1 but they deducted .05 because it was ran in traffic and he had to lift. The 2015 nismo times has NOT been published yet. 7:19.1 2013 BASE 7:24 2011 BASE 7:26 2009 BASE

[@militarychevy711]

I wish the 2014 Corvette C7 had 638 hp! LOL! Great run!

[@user-hs8mf4jn9k]

Military Chevy New ZO6 has 658 hp.

[@SidewaysGts]

@TheDubeo (pt2) Again the only point I originally wished to portray was that the LFA was "Faster" than being credited for- and cited the reasoning why. The only ACTUAL disagreement I can see we have based on what has transpired is that you state the Nurburgring LFA was built and set up for the nurburgring", & I'm stating its named so in respect to the LFA used for the 24-hours of Lemons because it uses some of the same style modifications- Much like V-Spec GTRs & numerous other cars.

[@SCROGY]

And he never countered my point about the few kg making very little difference. If GM took the stock ZR1 and spent as much time testing at the ring as Audi and Porsche, they'd get that few tenths back after probably a days testing with a good driver. If they spent months there you see the time come down significantly.

[@UFO721]

@V8Supercar1 Yes they did but considered the Enzo and the Carrera GT were build years before the ZR1. I would say the Murcielago LP 670 SV would be the real competition here. Sadly I have never heard one race at this race track.

[@sirlonghair]

well that didn't take to long to watch holy hell

[@SidewaysGts]

@TheDubeo "THe nurburg lfa is LIMITED production car set up just for the ring.. hello" Yes- Hello. I hear you. I just dont know what youre getting at. Yes its a limited production vehicle that had some minor adjustments for the ring- What of it?

[@chevychevelle111]

@ChristoMafesto yes, you are right.....did u see the lap of the z06? it´s 2 seconds slower than the zr1, i think that for having a supercharged engine it´s a really poor lap, or maybe a very good one for the Z06

[@Curveball]

Pilot Cup tires are optional on the Z06 and ZR1, so if you can buy the car that way from the factory, it's considered stock. And the GTR's run of 7:26 had optional tires on it too, but I didn't hear GTR fan boys dismissing the run of the GTR when it did it, or the GT3, or the M3. The GTR's come with special tires made for it, and they are filled with nitrogen. So, shall we say that's a 'special tire' too? ZR1 beats the GTR on every track they have run on. The Ring, Laguna Seca, Willow, and VIR.

[@Arcaniic]

Just look at it. It is the PREMIUM model.

[@Runner48FR]

La Corvette ZR1 est la voiture la plus rapide sur circuit !! Les Italiens avec leurs supercar en carton peuvent rentrés chez eux !!

[@AnonymoussourceL0L]

@bronxboyXXX This is true, but the thing is, is that these supercars are all much more expensive (except GTR) The ACR is no longer in production so I wouldn't really say it counts. The GT2 is 1.5 seconds faster which I believe is a big enough margin to be considered faster. Plus, the ZR1 isn't limited edition like, say the Nurburgring LFA or MC12

[@carbonfiber1995]

@Janusha I dindnt say it exist i just simply said that it will come out in 2012 with new designs but it will have the same v10 engine Dodge is know owned by Fiat so it has a chance to rise

[@Inklebonker1]

the spoilers make the difference definitely, just look at the viper acr's time compared to the standard srt10. Pretty amazing difference. now there can be the possibility that lexus lied but lets just trust them on that. speaking of the FXX that thing runs a six around the nurb, what can we contribute to that?

[@Stacky3350]

yeah, nothing can touch the zr1's nurburgring time! It's so fast, its like, invincible! oh except for the zonda r that completely shat all over this time by over 30 seconds.

[@superdriver777]

I could watch this all day -- but I have to say, having the guy talking in the background spoils it to some degree. I want to hear that V8 sing, and those tires squeal!

[@asshatnowhere159]

i don't think you can compare the two. i had a friend who owned a zo6 and a ferrari f430. loved them both but he told me that they are completely different to drive. they apparently give you a different feeling. i wish i knew how it felt! :P

[@Curveball]

Well, what most GT-R fans cannot do is show you a full lap video of the GT-R's 'faster than ZR1' runs because there isn't any, you just have to take Nissans word for it. Also, what many of them do not know is that the GT-R that was said to be a 'standard production car' that set the time faster than the ZR1 was modified. What 'standard production' meant was that it wasn't a purpose built race car. Proof? watch?v=hTPXnGb1ifU Start watching from 6:00 mark and read....it was modified.