Chevrolet Corvette ZR1X is Nürburgring's New American King
The all-new and mega-powerful 2026 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1X recently completed a lap of Germany's legendary Nürburgring Nordschleife in record time for an American production car.
The electrified, AWD-equipped sports car producing 1,250 horsepower covered the 20.8 km of the track nicknamed "Green Hell" in 6:49.275 minutes, beating the 815-horsepower Ford Mustang GTD (6:52.072 minutes).
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In the process, Corvette ZR1X vehicle dynamics engineer Drew Cattell became the fastest non-professional race car driver at the Nürburgring in the list of official record laps.
Right behind him, his colleague Brian Wallace pushed the 1,064-horsepower Corvette ZR1 around the track in 6:50,763 minutes—just a second and a half slower. Then, vehicle performance manager Aaron Link posted a time of 7:11.826 minutes with a 670-horsepower Corvette Z06.
“No auto manufacturer has done a Nürburgring lap attempt like this before,” GM President Mark Reuss said. “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.”
It’s worth pointing out that the Corvettes used at the Nürburgring were all U.S. production-spec cars, with the only modifications being the safety equipment recommended by the track. This includes a roll hoop, full containment race seat, fire extinguisher and six-point safety harness. The ZR1 and ZR1X both featured the ZTK Performance Package, which adds a stiffer suspension and Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2R tires.
Link (800 laps), Wallace (425 laps) and Cattell (600 laps) have extensive experience behind the wheel on the Nürburgring Nordschleife. In fact, they have gone over there a combined 31 times to develop and test GM vehicles. Wallace also happens to leads GM’s high performance driver training program.
Oh, and if you are wondering about the overall fastest cars on the Nürburgring, here are the top 5:
- Mercedes-AMG ONE – 6:29.090 minutes
- Porsche 911 GT2 RS Manthey Performance Kit – 6:43.300 minutes
- Porsche 911 GT2 RS MR – 6:44.749 minutes
- Mercedes AMG Black Series – 6:48.047 minutes
- Chevrolet Corvette ZR1X – 6:49.275 minutes