The C7Z must run on #h8rtears.
Cliffs-2nd best all time lap lightning lap record. Only thing faster was the 918.
Imagine Target trumping Saks Fifth Avenue. Timex outshining Rolex. Chevy beating Lamborghini.
Actually, that last one should come as no surprise. The Chevrolet Corvette added to its status as the world’s most affordable supercar this summer as it emerged the king of the 2015 Car & Driver Lightning Lap competition at Virginia International Raceway - out-running such thoroughbreds as the $353,115 McLaren 650S Spider, $274,120 Lamborghini Huracan, and the $163,000 Porsche 911 GT3.
So quick was the $100,245 Z06 — Corvette’s 650-horsepower performance model — that in the nine-year history of the famed Lightning Lap only one car has ever recorded a faster time: The 2014 Porsche 918 hybrid, a carbon-fiber cyborg from the future that costs nearly nine times the Corvette. The $875,175 Porsche was faster by a mere 1.5 seconds. That’s over $250,000 per half second.
The Corvette’s performance left Car & Driver Editor-in-chief Eddie Alterman in awe.
“It’s incredible how much performance they pack into that $100,000 price point,” Alterman said. “One of the interesting things about the Z06 is it proves the car with the highest top speed is not necessarily the fastest car around a race track. The McLaren (top speed: 204 mph), for example, was faster on the straights, but the Z06 with more down-force and grip just dominated on the more technical parts of the track.”
Ann Arbor-based Car & Driver is perhaps the country’s most revered auto enthusiast magazine, and VIR is one America’s most revered tracks. “We go there because it’s the closest thing to an American Nurburgring,” Alterman said in comparing the 4.1-mile, 24-turn roller-coaster outside Danville, Virginia, to the legendary, 13 mile long German circuit.
The resulting Lightning Lap test is an independent benchmark of whether today’s best performance cars are as quick on the track as their numbers suggest on paper. For three days, four top driver/journalists analyzed 18 of the industry’s state-of-the-art grouped by price.
“The goal is to see ... how much true dynamic value you get for the price,” Car & Driver said. In the case of the ’Vette, quite a lot.
The 2015 Z06 built on the success of the critically-acclaimed, $55,400, 2014 Corvette C7 Stingray — the first Corvette to get an all-aluminum chassis. The Stingray also improved interior comforts with features such as dual climate control, stitched leather seats and multi-mode driving controls comparable to pricier Porsches.
“The Z06 is truly an all-around performer,” said Todd Christensen, Chevy marketing manager for performance cars. “You could drive it to work every day and still be the fastest at the track. It can compete with and even beat some of the most expensive, most exotic cars on the market.”
Yet the Corvette remains old-school in many ways to reduce costs. It is still a front-engine, push-rod V-8 in an era of mid-engine, overhead-cam, hybrid-drivetrain mega-bots. No matter. When the rubber hits the road, the Z06 is supreme.
Its 2:44.6 minute lap this year not only nipped the McLaren (2:45.8) and Lamborghini Huracán (2:47.5), it destroyed the Porsche 911 GT3 (2:50.4) which is widely considered to be the best all-around sports car on the planet. Rummaging through previous Lightning Lap data, only the Porsche 918 beats the Z06 with a 2:43.1 second lap. Not the $333,376 Ferrari 458 Italia. Not the V-10-powered, $196,795 Audi R8.
The Lightning Lap results reaffirmed the decision of Farmington Hills resident Bruce Anderson to buy his orange Z06 this year. “It’s nice to know there’s not a lot on the road that I can’t beat,” he smiled.
The Corvette’s showing was not the only bright spot for Detroit iron. Cadillac’s latest entries in the performance sedan field, the Cadillac CTS-V and ATS-V, also impressed.
King Corvette: Chevy supercar beats elites
Cliffs-2nd best all time lap lightning lap record. Only thing faster was the 918.
Imagine Target trumping Saks Fifth Avenue. Timex outshining Rolex. Chevy beating Lamborghini.
Actually, that last one should come as no surprise. The Chevrolet Corvette added to its status as the world’s most affordable supercar this summer as it emerged the king of the 2015 Car & Driver Lightning Lap competition at Virginia International Raceway - out-running such thoroughbreds as the $353,115 McLaren 650S Spider, $274,120 Lamborghini Huracan, and the $163,000 Porsche 911 GT3.
So quick was the $100,245 Z06 — Corvette’s 650-horsepower performance model — that in the nine-year history of the famed Lightning Lap only one car has ever recorded a faster time: The 2014 Porsche 918 hybrid, a carbon-fiber cyborg from the future that costs nearly nine times the Corvette. The $875,175 Porsche was faster by a mere 1.5 seconds. That’s over $250,000 per half second.
The Corvette’s performance left Car & Driver Editor-in-chief Eddie Alterman in awe.
“It’s incredible how much performance they pack into that $100,000 price point,” Alterman said. “One of the interesting things about the Z06 is it proves the car with the highest top speed is not necessarily the fastest car around a race track. The McLaren (top speed: 204 mph), for example, was faster on the straights, but the Z06 with more down-force and grip just dominated on the more technical parts of the track.”
Ann Arbor-based Car & Driver is perhaps the country’s most revered auto enthusiast magazine, and VIR is one America’s most revered tracks. “We go there because it’s the closest thing to an American Nurburgring,” Alterman said in comparing the 4.1-mile, 24-turn roller-coaster outside Danville, Virginia, to the legendary, 13 mile long German circuit.
The resulting Lightning Lap test is an independent benchmark of whether today’s best performance cars are as quick on the track as their numbers suggest on paper. For three days, four top driver/journalists analyzed 18 of the industry’s state-of-the-art grouped by price.
“The goal is to see ... how much true dynamic value you get for the price,” Car & Driver said. In the case of the ’Vette, quite a lot.
The 2015 Z06 built on the success of the critically-acclaimed, $55,400, 2014 Corvette C7 Stingray — the first Corvette to get an all-aluminum chassis. The Stingray also improved interior comforts with features such as dual climate control, stitched leather seats and multi-mode driving controls comparable to pricier Porsches.
“The Z06 is truly an all-around performer,” said Todd Christensen, Chevy marketing manager for performance cars. “You could drive it to work every day and still be the fastest at the track. It can compete with and even beat some of the most expensive, most exotic cars on the market.”
Yet the Corvette remains old-school in many ways to reduce costs. It is still a front-engine, push-rod V-8 in an era of mid-engine, overhead-cam, hybrid-drivetrain mega-bots. No matter. When the rubber hits the road, the Z06 is supreme.
Its 2:44.6 minute lap this year not only nipped the McLaren (2:45.8) and Lamborghini Huracán (2:47.5), it destroyed the Porsche 911 GT3 (2:50.4) which is widely considered to be the best all-around sports car on the planet. Rummaging through previous Lightning Lap data, only the Porsche 918 beats the Z06 with a 2:43.1 second lap. Not the $333,376 Ferrari 458 Italia. Not the V-10-powered, $196,795 Audi R8.
The Lightning Lap results reaffirmed the decision of Farmington Hills resident Bruce Anderson to buy his orange Z06 this year. “It’s nice to know there’s not a lot on the road that I can’t beat,” he smiled.
The Corvette’s showing was not the only bright spot for Detroit iron. Cadillac’s latest entries in the performance sedan field, the Cadillac CTS-V and ATS-V, also impressed.
King Corvette: Chevy supercar beats elites
Only read the cliffs though.
