Kappa

sunsalem

There is something about a ZR1 vert. with that BIG A$$ rear wing that makes me laugh.
How many threads/posts have you seen on this website concerning Ring times in the last 5 years?
Maybe it's time for folks to let it go and look for some other metric.
After all, GM doesn't seem to put much stock in it regarding the C7.

Mcrider

The rest of the automotive world does. It's the benchmark that all are measured by. If the C7 can't measure up, then GM needs to get back to the drawing board.

RJ-92

Kappa

D'ZR1 Messiah

To each his own but I do think the big wing looks weird on verts. Looks really good on coupes though in my opinion.

Mcrider

This is GM, the 2nd largest auto manufacturer in the world and the ZR1 is the crown jewel of GM's performance car line. The entire world watches the Ring times, and they are important. This is all about credibility. Is the ZR1 a true supercar or an almost supercar?

The Ring times are the benchmark of yes or no.

jvp

They really aren't. They are a nice bragging right, but they're not "important". The Corvette has been and still is (and likely will be for a very long time) the most successful selling sports/GT car in the world. That's what "the entire world" should be watching.

racerns

Believing that the 7:12 time is the best it is going to do is the same as those that are disappointed in the very first 1/4 times that have been reported. You have no idea what the conditions or the purpose of that lap was.

Ted P

maybe they should have gotten the z06 magazine driver . seriously it doesn't sound right. Gotta be more than 2 seconds faster than the z06

the professor

Unbelievable how fast cars are right now. R&T is reporting that Porsche was able to get in three fast laps with the new GT3 RS with the Weissach Package recently. No official announcement yet but a "source" positioned at the start/finish clocked all three laps under 7 mins with a best of 6:56 (about a second faster than the 918 Spyder!). Extremely impressive for a 520 horsepower RWD car!
GM has been really hard to beat at the track for about a decade now, I don't see any way that the ZR1 won't be faster than the GT3 RS but we will have to wait and see, there is some serious competition out there!

Mcrider

If the ring times aren't that important, then manufacturers wouldn't be going there and spending all the time and money they do. As for the Corvette being the most successful sports car in the world, I have my doubts. Mercedes and Porsche are monsters all over the world and the corvette isn't. We see only our piece of the pie.

C7_Z06

I don't believe it's the best... never even claimed it would be. But I do believe it severely underperformed for what it's supposed to be.

Heck I at least would think that it will crack the Viper ACR-E's fastest laptime of 7:01.... when the non-manufacturer-funded SRT team first tried they achieved low 7's... like 7:03 iirc.

So my initial thoughts were that the new ZR1 should at least have dived well into the low 7's.... yes we have no ides what the conidtions where, etc. and yes we will see in further tests since they're all still planing to run again at the Ring soon (GM, Porsche, AMG, etc...).

3 Z06ZR1

The Corvette is top sports car sold in the US by a long way!

All over the world? Which to me couldn't matter less! Since I only see "my piece of the pie" the rest of it couldn't matter less ESP what Porsche or Mercedes is doing. Not important to most any Corvette drivers.
Pretty sure more Corvette's are sold here in the USA than the P and M cars combined. The USA and North America is by far the best roads and the best place to drive in the whole world for sure! Do I really care what the P and M cars are doing! NOPE! Will my Corvette smoke them on highway runs! Yes!

Mcrider

Be real careful making any bets with Porsche or Mercedes pilots. The Mercedes SL55 AMG was breaking 200 MPH 10 years ago!!!!

meadowz06

Truth!

Chicago1

Don't tell me manufactures don't care about ring time. If and when GM gets a ring time they will let us know trust me they will be throwing that **** around in everyone's face like dollar bills getting jammed down girl's thongs at a strip joint.

keagan

Incoming **** storm. Let's wait and see how "official" this is. GM always produces PDR or cabin footage to back up their times.

Rob P

If they don't end up with a sub 7 min ring time, it will be an absolute disappointment. I don't give much credit to todays news as there is nothing official there. It seems we may see some official times within the next few weeks from GM. They will have the in car video footage to back their claims.

I have one on order, I didn't expect them to beat the gt2rs but I would like to see them ahead of the gt3rs to say the least.

NemesisC5

When a debate over the importance of ring times comes up emotions rise proving that yes it IS important to at least anyone who comments. We all have a sense of pride and ownership in Corvette and that's a primary reason we visit this forum and post. I'm not saying a sub 7 time = XX% more sales, merely stating that pride of ownership influences emotions and perceptions which influence purchases. Obviously GM recognizes this point otherwise they would not publish official in-car videos showcasing stellar lap times indicative of their engineering accomplishments. All automobile magazines whether print or online reference "ring times" as a point of comparison so saying ring time are meaningless is a gross overstatement of personal opinion disregarding how the majority views this.

That being said, no way 7.12 representative of 2019 ZR1 best lap capability. Was the driver named in the article? I think GM is setting the stage for what will be a low to sub 7 lap. If not....it is what it is and my sense of pride in Corvette will not be diminished and I'll still read and post on Corvette Forum, life goes on.