The Chevrolet Corvette ZR1X Is Officially The Fastest American Production Car Ever

The Chevrolet Corvette just made Nurburgring history, becoming the fastest American car to lap the famed “Green Hell” test track. The Corvette ZR1X spec sheet—featuring 1,250 horsepower developed in a hybrid, twin-turbo V8 powertrain, Qualifying mode and a push-to-pass function—translated from paper to pavement as the most extreme ‘Vette ever rounded the 12.9-mile circuit in 6:49.275 Not only is this the fastest American-made ride to clock a time on the track, it’s also the fifth-fastest production car to do so. What’s more, it wasn’t a race car driver, but Corvette ZR1X vehicle dynamics engineer Drew Cattell who completed the feat, thereby setting the fastest lap at the ‘Ring by a non-race car driver.

ZR1 vehicle dynamics engineer Brian Wallace set a 6:50.763 time in the 1,064-horsepower ZR1, putting it seventh on the production car Nurburgring fastest-lap board. All were U.S. production-spec vehicles, with the only modifications being the safety equipment recommended by the track. This includes a roll hoop, full containment race seat, fire extinguisher, and a six-point safety harness. All three set lap times for the Prototype/Pre-Production category, since the ZR1 and ZR1X are not sold in Europe and the Z06 was a North American variant.

“We’ve created a different kind of relationship between our cars, iconic tracks, and our engineers, it is how we develop our vehicles,” said Morris. “These Corvettes weren’t piloted by pro racecar drivers. They were driven by the same engineers who designed, engineered and tuned them. Brian… and Drew have grown into world-class drivers and even better engineers. Their lap times now rank among the fastest ever recorded by non-professionals at the ‘Ring, which is so cool.”

“No auto manufacturer has done a Nürburgring lap attempt like this before,” added 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. These are the best Corvettes in history, period.”