Breaking five lap records at circuits across the United States was no mean feat, but what we’d all been waiting for was a flat-out attack of the Nürburgring Nordschleife. Ford threw down the gauntlet with their Mustang GTD, becoming the first American car to record a time of under seven minutes with imperfect track conditions. Now, General Motors responded emphatically, sending not one but three Corvettes to Germany, with the ZR1X taking just 6:49.725 to complete the 12.94-mile, 154-corner lap.

The time cuts 7.96-seconds off the Mustang’s best effort, and places the hybrid supercar ahead of the Porsche 992 GT3 RS, and just behind the Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series in the official Nordschleife rankings. The X is an electrified evolution of the already mighty ZR1, adding a 186bhp electric motor to the front axle to compliment the 1,064bhp twin-turbocharged V8. The result is a combined output of 1,250bhp and 973lb-ft (1,319Nm) of torque.

The ZR1X peaked at 199mph on its run, but it was able to maintain high cornering speeds throughout its tour of the German countryside. Over 1.8G was recorded multiple times through the bends, as the car made good use of its Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R tyres, and carbon ceramic brakes. The car was fitted with the ZTK Performance Package, bestowing it with a firmer suspension setup thanks to a higher spring rate. The Carbon Aero Package was also fitted, with the diveplanes and enlarged rear wing contributing to high-speed stability.

A Corvette ZR1 fitted with the same suspension, tyres, aero package, and 10-piston front/6-piston rear callipers gripping 16.5” carbon ceramic brakes stopped the clock just moments after the ZR1X’s benchmark. The non-hybrid model had to make do with 'just' 1,064bhp and 828lb-ft (1,123Nm) and rear-wheel drive, but it completed its lap in 6:50.763 - only 1.038-seconds adrift of its electrified stablemate. 

The third and final Corvette to post a time was the Z06, powered by a naturally-aspirated 5.5-litre V8 offering 670bhp and 460lb-ft (624Nm). The car was fitted with the Z07 package, comprising magnetic adaptive dampers, Michelin Cup 2 R rubber, and carbon ceramic brakes, and lapped the Nordschleife in 7:11.826.

What’s most remarkable about the three-pronged Nürburgring attack is not so much the cars, but the people who drove them. While most manufacturers put professional racing drivers behind the wheel when setting lap records, GM has been putting its own employees up against the stopwatch. The ZR1X and ZR1 were piloted by Vehicle Dynamics Engineers Drew Cattell and Brian Wallace respectively, while the Z06 had Vehicle Performance Manager Aaron Link at the helm. Wallace and Link were among the drivers that broke five American lap records earlier this year.

Development drivers are certainly no slouches, but at such a specialist circuit, GM is perhaps leaving some time on the table. We think they could return with a full-time racer at the wheel in the future, and raise the benchmark even higher.

Fourteen years after the last official Corvette hot lap at the Nürburgring with the C6 ZR1, the C8 has stamped its authority onto the tarmac in dramatic fashion. It’s become both the fastest, and the second fastest American car to lap the Nordschleife, leaving plenty of European supercars in its wake, and sending its local rivals back to the drawing board. Ford CEO Jim Farley congratulated Corvette on their achievements, and said “Game on.”