Autoblog

Back at the Nürburgring, the hot Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1 has just ripped four seconds off its claimed 7:26 lap. The new time, with Jan Magnussen at the wheel, is a claimed 7:22.4 for the full 12.93-mile loop. While the number is pretty bloody fast, it is still .3 seconds off the time earned by the Dodge Viper ACR (ouch, those three tenths really have to hurt!). We take these lap times with a grain of salt, as we've yet to see everyone on the 73-turn course under the same conditions, and with officially certified timing equipment. Again, so you don't have to Google the competition's best-claimed Ring times yourself, here they are: Porsche GT2 - 7:32, Nissan GT-R - 7:29, Corvette ZR1 - 7:22.4 and the Dodge Viper ACR - 7:22.1. Thanks for the tip, Xeyad!

[Source: Motor Gears]

Click above for a high-res gallery of the Corvette ZR1.

Tadge J. Juechter, Corvette's chief engineer, announced this morning that Jim Mero, GM's development engineer, drove the ZR1 around the Nurburgring in 7:26.4. According to the GMNext blog, the run took place earlier this morning and that conditions were good on the track, with the exception of a strong headwind down the main straight. Mero mentioned that he felt there were a few places where he could have gone faster, although no details were provided about why and where.

Juechter makes it clear that the ZR1 that lapped the 'Ring was instock trim, with the exception of safety and communications equipment. As such, the ZR1 was wearing the same Michelin Pilot Sport 2s found on the production model, the chassis alignment and vehicle height were set to factory specs and the unmodified engine was running on pump gas.

The lap began with a rolling start – which falls in line with current industry practices – and the time was confirmed both through an electronic timing system and two hand-held stopwatches. The ZR1 team will be posting a video of their run when they return from Germany and we'll be keeping our eye out for it when it's online the week of July 7th.

Top tip Mason!


[Source: GMNext]

Video of Nissan's newly-mined 7:29 Nürburgring lap time has now surfaced on YouTube. The video comes courtesy of a fan recording a television screen at what looks to be a Nissan event display. The background noise is rather overbearing, but if you crank up the volume it is possible to catch a hint of the squealing tires and screaming engine. Those are the same street tires available off the showroom floor, along with supposedly stock engine specifications. Regardless of the equipment though, the track is completely dry this time around and Nissan test driver Tochio Suzuki doesn't hold anything back. Catch the video after the jump. Thanks for the tip Collin and D@rk!

[Source: YouTube]

click above for more images of the Lexus LF-A Concept

A Lexus LF-A mule has unofficially recorded a lap time on the Nordschleife of 7 minutes, 24 seconds. This is not in dispute. What is in dispute is how many seconds faster the LF-A's lap time is than that of the 2008 Porsche 911 GT2, the previous "King of the 'Ring" record holder. Wikipedia notes that the fastest 911 GT2 driven around the Ring posted a lap time of 7 minutes, 32 seconds and was driven by Walter Röhrl, Porsche's company test driver and accomplished WRC driver and road racing pilot. Porsche was so proud of the feat that it produced a snazzy video of the run that you can watch here. AutoExpress, however, which reported on the LF-A's remarkable lap time, claims that the fastest 911 GT2 lap time on the Nurburgring is 7 minutes, 25 seconds, but we could find no evidence on the web of a stock 911 GT2 ever posting a time that fast. Also note that a handful of other cars have posted lap times, but all are either tuner cars or limited production boutique cars like the Pagani Zonda F.

Nevertheless, the Lexus LF-A's time is remarkable and puts it in a class normally populated by purpose-built tuner cars. Its 4.8L V10 churns out a reported 552bhp while slapping the needle against a 9,000 rpm redline. A 210 mph top speed is said to be the car's upper bound, which makes us shake our heads. This is, after all, the brand that brought us the sarcophagus of a car that is the LS sedan. The production LF-A should be able to repeat the performance, but we'll have to wait a while longer while the Lexus supercar finishes baking in the oven. In the meantime, for Pete's sake, someone ship a Corvette ZR1 to Germany!

[Source: AutoExpress]

It didn't take long for Japan's journalists to get the new STI and EVO X side by side, and the results are now officially in. Tsukuba circuit regulars Kazuo Shimizu and Manabu Kawaguchi spent an afternoon thrashing around the notoriously twisty short circuit just north of Tokyo and here (drum roll please) are the best times they could ring out of the AWD rivals:

Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X : 1:06:46

Subaru Impreza WRX STI : 1:05:95

So there you have it. The new engine placed further forward in the engine bay of the EVO X than in the EVO IX has indeed proven to be a handicap, while the STI's "wheel at each corner" longer wheelbase plus new double wishbone rear suspension has proved its worth.

Neither car is quite as quick as its immediate ancestor though.

Check out this 15 year rivalry of the EVO vs the STI as recorded at Tsukuba after the jump.

[Source: CAR Top magazine]