Spy Shots: Corvette ZR1 attacking the Nurburgring
by John Neff on May 7th 2008 at 2:26PM 
Click above for high-res gallery of ZR1 on the 'Ring spy shots
Corvette Chief Engineer (and Autoblog commenter) Tadge Juechter said last week that the new ZR1 "will be able to take the production-car track record at any racetrack" and should lap the famed Nurburgring race track in Germany in "seven minutes, twenty-something seconds." Considering Nissan just posted a new official lap time of 7:29 for the GT-R and that the GT-R V-Spec is reportedly clicking off laps in 7:25, them sounds like fightin' words. Well, the ZR1 is officially being flogged around the Ring as we speak, though no one has yet to report a lap time for this gorgeous red prototype that was spotted by KGP photographers. BridgetoGantry.com reports that yesterday there was a helicopter over the track "chasing something that sounded very V8 and awfully supercharged," so perhaps lap times will soon be forthcoming. We imagine the supercharged LS9 V8's 628 horsepower and the ZR1's 205-mph top speed will not disappoint.
[Source: KGP Photography]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 7)
phillip 2:30PM (5/07/2008)
Let the flame war begin!
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Yar 2:32PM (5/07/2008)
I'll give it a good stir:
As soon as I get my hands on a GTR, I'm doing an LS7 swap with a 12-Bolt rear end.
Paul 3:06PM (5/07/2008)
Yar that might be the best Autoblog post ever
Yar 3:15PM (5/07/2008)
I forgot to add: the 12-bolt will have a Detroit Locker, or maybe Posi-Trac.
pmiddle5 4:40PM (5/07/2008)
^^^ awww you're special.
rouse42 2:31PM (5/07/2008)
about time
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nissanfreak87 2:31PM (5/07/2008)
pretty sweet car, can't wait to see it and the V-spec fight it out
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Proud Japanese 2:31PM (5/07/2008)
The ZR1 might barely match the GT-R but it has no chance against the upcoming V-Spec.
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TriShield 2:32PM (5/07/2008)
Fuel for the fire.
http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/did-nissan-cheat-gt-r-nurburgring-record/
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Proud Japanese 2:34PM (5/07/2008)
GM cheated with their lap time of 7:42 for the Z06 too.
Castle 2:58PM (5/07/2008)
Its not cheating. The GTR that got 7:29 is the US-spec GTR; which has minor tuning like stiffer engine mounts etc compared to the Japanese model. However, the updates are also going into newer Japanese-spec models as well. The Euros-spec is suppose to be further updated when they release it in 2009 (which isn't surprising since its a different model year).
Daniel 3:10PM (5/07/2008)
Fuel for the Fire
www.calibersession.com
Franz 3:19PM (5/07/2008)
I wouldn't consider it cheating, since the upgrades will be made right across the board. Plus Mizuno already said that the car will continuously be developed and improved. If other manufacturers adopted this approach too, we'd all be better off in cars that are more thoroughly sorted out. Why would anybody wanna bad mouth Nissan for upgrading any discovered weaknesses and trying to give the masses a better car?
jgp 3:30PM (5/07/2008)
TTAC is a filthy tabloid that gets its kicks by defaming any auto companies it can get its hands on.
I wouldn't trust anything they "report" (read: make up).
Boudu 5:37PM (5/07/2008)
@jGP
Yep, "The Truth About Cars" is probably the worst blog site around. Vast majority of their crap is just irrational flamebait designed to get hits from suckers linking to them.
naggs 3:28PM (5/09/2008)
this is news? of course they cheated.
anyone who isn't a total skyline fanboi knew that.
3rd party groups have yet to crack 7.50 in a GTR, which is about as fast as a ls2 z51 vette.
i called it
FrankTheCrank 2:36PM (5/07/2008)
Is that a solar panel on the hood? What the hell is that?
ZR-1....your no Godzilla. Try again.
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Seoultrain 2:41PM (5/07/2008)
It's a way-cool window through which you can see the engine. No wait, all you can see is the plastic engine cover. How classy...
Also: you're
Matt 3:04PM (5/07/2008)
The grammar mistakes some of you people make are comical. Go back to your NASCAR pop-up books and stay the hell off the internet.
FrankTheCrank 3:32PM (5/07/2008)
Matt, you're a dick. LOL.
Your, you're.....so sue me. the ZR-1 is uninspired.
The sheet metal doesn't scream like Godzilla's sheet metal.