WATCH | The Chevrolet Corvette is now the fastest American car around the Nürburgring

The Chevrolet Corvette has made a strong showing at Germany’s Nürburgring Nordschleife, with three models setting notable lap times around the fearsome 20.76km circuit.

In a demonstration aimed at showcasing its performance credentials on one of the world’s most demanding tracks, Chevrolet brought three production-spec Corvette variants, each piloted by a non-professional driver. The results offer a compelling snapshot of the brand’s capabilities.

The 500kW Corvette Z06, driven by Aaron Link, completed a lap in 7:11.826. Meanwhile, Brian Wallace clocked a 6:50.763 in the 782kW Corvette ZR1 — 2.691 seconds quicker than the 608kW Ford Mustang GTD managed in May. This makes it the fastest lap recorded at the Nordschleife by a vehicle from an American manufacturer.

The standout performance came from Drew Cattell, a GM vehicle dynamics engineer, who recorded a 6:49.275 lap in the electrified, all-wheel drive 932kW Corvette ZR1X. According to Chevrolet, this is the fastest Nürburgring lap by a non-professional driver on the list of official records. It’s also 0.053 seconds quicker than the time set by the Porsche 911 GT3 RS.

All three Corvettes used were US production-spec models, with modifications limited to track-mandated safety equipment, including a roll hoop, full containment race seat, fire extinguisher and six-point harness. The lap times were recorded under the Prototype/Pre-Production category, as the ZR1 and ZR1X are not sold in Europe and the Z06 used was a North American variant.

“No car manufacturer has done a Nürburgring lap attempt like this before,” said GM president Mark Reuss.

“From development to production and now at the Nürburgring Nordschleife, the Green Hell, we have shown there is no limit to what our GM engineers and vehicles can accomplish. These are the best Corvettes in history.”