Rumor: Is This the Real C8 Z51 Nürburgring Lap Time?

At 7:28.30, the number is just believable enough to be true. Maybe.

It’s clear that Chevrolet wants the Corvette to be taken seriously as a world class sports car. It’s to be expected, then, that it puts down an impressive lap time on the fabled Nürburgring Nordschleife.

While the manufacturer hasn’t released an official lap time, Muscle Cars & Trucks alleges that a C8 equipped with the Z51 Performance Package lapped the 16.12 mile course in an impressive 7:28.30. As they point out, that’s over ten seconds faster than the factory time set for a Z51-equipped C7 back in 2013.

MC&T gives no source for the time, and there’s no info to back it up. Chris Bruce of Motor 1 reached out to Muscle Cars & Trucks‘ Manoli Katakis. Katakis’ circumspect response was “MC&T has been carrying the torch when it comes to C8 Corvette news, and we let our exclusive reporting speak for itself.”

In other words, the 7:28.30 time could be accurate or total BS. Bruce also contacted Chevrolet, but to no avail. Chevrolet has previously announced plans to run the car at the Nürburgring and record an official time.

A 7:28.30 lap time would hardly make the C8 Z51 the fastest Corvette around the Nürburgring. The fastest official time for a Corvette around the ‘Ring would be the 2012 ZR1. Chevrolet states that the 2012 ZR1 could manage the Nürburgring in a scant 7:19.63.

Given that the base C8 with the Z51 package is within ten seconds of the C6 ZR1’s pace, there’s plenty of room for future variants of the C8 to blow those times out of the water. Bruce also points out that one Corvette engineer, Jim Mero, alleges that the 2019 ZR1 was four seconds away from the seven minute mark. Chevrolet didn’t release an official time for that car, however.

BMW’s M4 GTS, the ultimate track toy evolution of their M4, ran the Nürburgring in 7:27.88. That’s within a half second of the C8. If Chevrolet wanted the Corvette to be a world-class sports car, it sounds like they got their wish.

Again, we must stress that this number hasn’t been verified. We have no real way of knowing if it’s true. But it is believable enough to give us some food for thought until Chevrolet releases the true number.

Photos: Chevrolet

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