Car & Driver runs this year's Lightning Lap at VIR
Click above to view high-res gallery of C&D's 2008 Lightning Lap
Every year Car & Driver does something we can only dream about doing: take the whole gamut of today's hottest cars and run them around the 4.2-mile track at Virginia International Speedway. It's called the Lightning Lap, and it's basic purpose is to discover which cars give you the most bang for your buck. The invite list reads like a who's who of sportscars, and this year ranges from the 2008 Chevy Cobalt SS to the 2008 Mosler MT900S. Twenty-two cars in all were tested, and other notable participants include the '09 Cadillac CTS-V, '09 Nissan GT-R, '08 Dodge Viper ACR and '08 Ferrari F430 Scuderia (sorry, apparently the Corvette ZR1 wasn't available, which would have made this the most epic event ever).
Think of the Lightning Lap as the biggest comparison test you've ever seen, and a great way to figure out how much performance you're getting for your dollar since the cars are judged strictly on lap times only. The cars are divided up into five classes according to price with vehicles like the Cobalt SS and Dodge Cailber SRT4 taking up residence way down in the LL1 class and the Ferrari and Mosler holding court in the most expensive LL5 class. This year there was no LL4 class, but LL3 contains the bulk of participants. We've got a gallery of shots from the event below provided courtesy of Car and Driver and a list of all the entrants after the jump, but you'll want to click through and read the whole thing for yourself. We're already angling with our friends over there to see if we can sit trackside and watch next year when the next Lightning Lap goes down.
Gallery: 2008 Lightning Lap - Car and Driver
[Source: Car and Driver, Photos by Rich Chenet]
2008 Lightning Lap - Car and Driver
LL1: 2008 Chevrolet Cobalt SS
LL1: 2008 Dodge Caliber SRT4
LL1: 2008 Volvo C30 T5 Version 2.0
LL2: 2008 Chevrolet Corvette Z51
LL2: 2009 Cadillac CTS-V
LL2: 2008 BMW M3
LL2: 2008 Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG
LL2: 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution MR
LL2: 2008 BMW 135i
LL2: 2008 Lexus IS F
LL2: 2008 Audi S5
LL2: 2008 Honda S2000 CR
LL2: 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8
LL2: 2008 Lotus Elise SC
LL2: 2008 Infiniti G37 Sport
LL2: 2008 Subaru Impreza WRX STI
LL2: 2008 Volkswagen R32
LL2: 2008 Honda Civic Mugen Si
LL3: 2009 Nissan GT-R
LL3: 2008 Dodge Viper SRT10 ACR
LL5: 2008 Ferrari 430 Scuderia
LL5: 2008 Mosler MT900S
LL1 (under $30,000)
LL2 ($30,000–$60,000)
LL3 ($60,000–$120,000)
LL4 ($120,000–$240,000)
LL5 (above $240,000)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
JLo 9:32AM (9/25/2008)
No Porsche? You think they'd throw in a GT2, GT3, or at least a turbo. After all, that was the car that set the bar for the Nissan GT-R. This would be better if it were an all out shoot-out. Turn it into the fastest lap competition a la Top Gear and include all comers.
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Christian 2:18PM (9/25/2008)
...Probably cause the 911 Turbo got embarassed last year by a solid rear axle GT500.
naggs 2:53PM (9/25/2008)
no new porsches, they already have times for the porsches, they will test them again when they are changed or new
Torrent 12:02PM (9/25/2008)
zomg i'm buying 2 issues.
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From My Cube 12:10PM (9/25/2008)
I had a man-gasm looking at that picture...any true autoblog fan can name all the cars without using the cheat list below....
3seriesisking 12:11PM (9/25/2008)
Yeah, it looks to be a really good and exciting lineup for this year's issue....can't wait!
TheMagnificen7 12:16PM (9/25/2008)
I was going to ask if it was really cool or really lame that I could name all of the cars. Guess I have my answer =)
MemphisNET 12:03PM (9/25/2008)
Mosler *drool*
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AkulaX1 3:40PM (9/25/2008)
That's what I said FYEAHHHHH
Mosler will F everyone up !!!! :)
Gary Blomquist 12:07PM (9/25/2008)
And no Mazdaspeed3 in the LL1 bracket to go against the Calibre/Cobalt crowd.
That would have been a great addition, and I can't understand why C&D left out that great car. :(
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Trevor 12:28PM (9/25/2008)
http://www.roadandtrack.com/article.asp?section_id=31&article_id=7108
Take a look at that if you think the MS3 is a better car than the Cobalt SS...
simianspeedster 2:13PM (9/25/2008)
Is that R&T article supposed to be conclusive proof that the Cobalt SS is the better car? It surely is a performer, but there are two truths about owning a Cobalt SS:
1) You have to look at it from the outside.
2) You have to drive it from the inside.
Even R&T hammered the Cobalt SS scores for exterior and interior styling -- it came in last for both categories while the MazdaSpeed3 came in first.
Fast or not, I couldn't buy a car that I don't want to look, sit in or be seen in. The Lightning Lap would be better if the MazdaSpeed3 were there to compete.
-SimianSpeedster
dougjp 2:41PM (9/25/2008)
? It says right there in the description of the Cobalt's track run that it dropped a full 3 seconds off the MazdaSpeed 3's record for this class. So what's changed in the MS3 from last year when this time was set???
RDL 2:44PM (9/25/2008)
Trevor @ Sep 25th 2008 12:28PM:
"Take a look at that if you think the MS3 is a better car than the Cobalt SS..."
Impressive. Even more so because the SS got a 20 in the "driving excitement" section, the most important one, IMHO. What that R&T article truly shows is that both the Ralliart and WRX are way overpriced, I mean, $28,660.00 for a WRX? $29,915.00 for a Ralliart? Jeez! That's what the 2006 EVO RS used to cost, and that was the real deal, not some crippled EVO wannabe... :|
naggs 2:49PM (9/25/2008)
uhm, they did it last year, already have a time, the cobalt SS not only destroyed the MS3 is is also faster than the evo MR and the embarrassingly slow STI
RDL 3:19PM (9/25/2008)
I stand corrected; the base prices for the WRX and Ralliart are $25,495.00 and $26,490.00, respectively, much more acceptable.
naggs 5:21PM (9/25/2008)
agreed, the evo/sti used to be performance bargains. now they are over priced and over weight.
Rev 6:27PM (9/25/2008)
Uhhh Naggs:
0-60 in under 5 seconds is hardly "embarrassingly slow". If that's embarrassingly slow, what would you call the Mugen SI: immobile?
Not to embarrass you and your infinite knowledge of all things cars, but what kind of car do you drive?
From My Cube 12:12PM (9/25/2008)
while i do love that car, the reasoning is probably becauuse that car is EOL
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TKOsoccer03 12:15PM (9/25/2008)
Wow .. CTS-V finished 6th right behind the Z51. It truly is a Cadillac Corvette. Many of it's numbers are sooo close to the Vette.
Can't wait to see how it does in COTY.
Also, the Cobalt did very well. That car is one of the most underrated cars out there. It really is a great performance car, for a very, very reasonable price.
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