MMartin

I think Andy Pilgram turned a few 2:09's in a ZR1 at NCM.
What do you think he will run in the new production C8?

captain vette

I don’t think that the first C8 will be faster on a racetrack those ZR1 are kind of a beast especially built for the tracks

jefnvk

I dunno, random guess outta thin air, 5-7 seconds a lap faster than an equally equipped performance level C7? Maybe a bit more? On C&D VIR Lightning laps, they seem to drop ~10 sec from C6 to C7 around VIR, but that's a longer course.

RapidC84B

VIR full course is the better metric... much more driven and known track. Jim Mero told me he did a 2:02.9 in a stock C7 Z51 with a racing seat and harness as the only mods. That's crazy fast. I managed a 2:02.5 in mine but I had Hoosiers and swaybars and a little Z06 aero as my additions.

My guess is the Z51 C8 will be a 2:00 car or possibly even sub 2:00 at VIR on the right day.

SouthernSon

Probably a little better than that. He did a 2:08:xx in a buddy's C7Z06.

PCMIII

In the C&D Lightning Lap, a 2017 Grand Sport beat the mid-engine 2016 McLaren 570s, 2017 Audi R8 V10+ and 2017 Acura NSX while losing to the 2018 Porsche 911 GT3 by just a tenth of a second. Since those 3 MEs all have well over 500 hp, the C8 base car will be slower than the FE Grand Sport and it won't be close.

keagan

I’ll go with $1 Bob!

NewYuriCity

His best lap of the Grand Full course (the longest layout) was a 2:05.59, which is bonkers. I'd think the C8 would be able to pull somewhere around the 2:13 mark, possibly better. I'd expect the C8 to be able to outpace the Grand Sport with some horsepower advantage, better tires, and the midengine layout.

https://motorsportspark.org/production-car-lap-records/

PCMIII

The McLaren 570s, R8 V10+ and NSX could not beat the GS at the Lightning Lap even though all 3 MEs had significantly more HP. Why would the C8 do better?

C7Me

I have to disagree with this statement. I expect the new base C8 will be at least as fast as the current GS if not faster around a track. I'm guessing somewhere between the GS and Z06 performance wise. If not then it's a failure by GM.

RapidC84B

Ignore him.... he rambles on about illogical things continuously.

PCMIII

If the C8 has only the LT2 with ~500 hp, how will it out-perform the 570s, R8 V10+ and NSX which all have well over 500 hp? The R8 has 600 hp.

PCMIII

Got any facts or logic? Of course not. All you can do is insults.

NewYuriCity

Tires, brakes,suspension design, torque delivery, weight, weight distribution, shift times and gearing, are things that contribute to a car's lap time; not just horsepower. Corvette has had class-leading brakes for a long time, and that is a big contributor to the stellar lap times the car has been able to produce. There's no reason to believe the C8 won't continue this trend.

PCMIII

The 570s and R8 V10+ are both well over $200K. Do you think the C8 will have better brakes?

NewYuriCity

Yes

C7Me

I'm just going by the history of the Corvette. Each generation has been a big improvement over the last with the new base model being faster than all the previous gens models except the Z06/ZR1.

This is from C&D's Lightning Lap in 2014. This was a Z51 Stingray so still a base model according everyone on this forum. I would expect the same increase in performance for the C8.

"With great steering and handling, the latest Corvette is a highly engaging road car. But aside from a few laps at GM’s Milford Road Course and the very short Streets of Willow Springs circuit in California, we hadn’t spent much time hustling a C7 around a track. Until this year’s LL Thrash-a-palooza, that is.

Turns out, not much time is needed to turn a lap. At 2:53.8, the basic C7 is a mere 0.3 second off the previous Z06 with the Z07 package (tires, brakes, and chassis upgrades from the ZR1) and just a little more than three seconds slower than the 638-hp 2012 ZR1. A non-Z07 Z06 ran a 2:58.2. Remember, this is a regular C7. The time it posted is usually the realm of cars costing two to three times its $65,665 price."

KnightDriveTV

C8 Z51 lap at:

VIR Grand I'll go 2:46.1 via journalist driver, dropping :01 -.02 with GM driver
Nurburgring (doubt we'll see a time but) I'll go 7:18.7 with sport auto around 7:20's
Laguna I'll go 1:35.2 via Pobst

without knowing jack sh*t about the car/weight/output/rubber/packages...these are my prelim guesses

RapidC84B

I hate VIR Grand... literally the only people that use it are Care & Driver for the dumb lightning lap. EVERYONE who races or does even a HPDE runs on VIR Full course.

PCMIII

The Lightning Lap seems to show that amateur drivers can go faster in FE cars like the GS, Z06 and ZR1 compared to theoretically faster MEs.
OTOH, pro drivers can exploit the ME handling characteristics better and therefore go faster. So that is a real dilemma for non-pro drivers: buy a FE that you can drive faster and more confidently or a ME that is faster on paper but slower in reality and more dangerous to handle. Hard to believe Corvette would concede the FE market to Toyota and BMW when it is actually the better car for its customers.