When Chevy published a teaser showing the 2026 Corvette ZR1 at the Nürburgring on June 28, the internet immediately jumped to the conclusion that the 6-28 date meant the new C8 variant would break the current record holder’s time.

But not so fast. Corvette Chief Executive Engineer Tony Roma says that kind of talk might just be wishful thinking.
“It’s more difficult than it’s ever been to set a record at the ‘Ring.

They charge you a lot of money to talk about it, and they want to have certified timing and scoring,” Roma explained.
“You have to rent the track, get the safety marshals, pay the licensing fee, pay the filming fee. And if your day rains, oh well.
We are not based in Stuttgart, so we can’t just go back next week. That’s why you haven’t seen us set a lap record attempt.”

The 6-28 reference is significant because a time of 6 minutes, 28 seconds would smash the current production car lap record holder, the Mercedes-AMG One with an F1-inspired V6 engine that ran a sizzling 6:29.090 on the German track.
Still, all may not be hopeless for the Corvette faithful.

Perhaps the ZR1 could settle for becoming the fastest American production car to lap the Nordschleife by breaking the Ford Mustang GTD’s record pace of 6:52.072, or maybe even aiming higher for the runner-up spot overall by beating the Porsche 911 GT2 RS with the Manthey Performance Kit that ran a time of 6:38.835.

Regardless, it won’t be easy, if you believe Roma.

“You can see the effort Ford had to put into the GTD,” Roma said. “And they had to go back twice to get decent weather.”
“All I can say is, stay tuned. We did go and drive around the (12.944 miles and 157 corners of the) Green Hell, and we’re pretty proud of how the car did. And so, we’re going to release more details when the time’s right. Very soon, very soon.”

As Roma teased, Chevy just wants to “wait until you have a story that’s worth telling.”

GM recently posted a teaser from the Nürburgring, showing the 2026 Chevy Corvette ZR1 setting a lap time. Speculation has already run rampant, with a former Corvette engineer even predicting the 1,064-horsepower 'Vette would be within a shout of breaking the production car lap record around the famous racetrack in Germany.
Speaking with the current executive chief engineer for Corvette, however, it seems we may need to temper our expectations.

Many of the rumors circulating around this teaser are related to the date it was published: June 28. This led some speculators to predict that the ZR1 would set a 6:28 lap time, which would put it ahead of the current production car lap record holder, the Mercedes-AMG One. That car features an F1-inspired V6 engine, and is capable of a blistering 6:29.090 time.

The Porsche 911 GT2 RS with the Manthey Performance Kit is in second place by a significant margin (6:38.835).
When CarBuzz asked about the date being a hint at the lap time, Tony Roma seemed to insinuate this was not the case.

"I wish the car was that fast. I've seen so many things online, but just stay tuned."
– Tony Roma, executive chief engineer for global Corvette

The Nürburgring Nordschleife is possibly the most grueling racetrack in the world; they don't call it the Green Hell for no reason.
It stretches for 12.944 miles with a staggering 157 corners, meaning there could be rain at one end of the track and clear skies on the other.

"It's more difficult than it's even been to set a record at the ring. They charge you a lot of money to talk about it, and they want to have certified timing and scoring," Roma explained. "You have to rent the track, get the safety marshals, pay the licensing fee, pay the filming fee. And if your day rains, oh well. We are not based in Stuttgart, so we can't just go back next week.

That's why you haven't seen us set a lap record attempt."
Some automakers will publish what is called a "segmented time," where they take the best times from various sections over several runs to estimate a lap time. But Roma says that is "a little cheesy" and "a bit misleading."

Roma said he wanted to "wait until you have a story that's worth telling." Though it seems unlikely that the ZR1 will defeat the AMG One, there is another important car that Chevy hopes it can take down: the Ford Mustang GTD. For reference, the GTD became the fastest American production car to lap the Nordschleife when it set a 6:52.072 time earlier this year.
Becoming the fastest American car would certainly be a good story for Chevy.

"You can see the effort Ford had to put into the GTD," Roma hinted. "And they had to go back twice to get decent weather."
"All I can say is, stay tuned. We did go and drive around the Green Hell, and we're pretty proud of how the car did.
And so, we're going to release more details when the time's right. Very soon, very soon."

The Chevrolet Corvette Z06, ZR1 and ZR1X took over the 12.9-mile Nordschleife circuit where, for the first time in the track’s history, an automaker brought three different cars with three non-racecar drivers to record three lap times in a single visit.
Three of the Chevrolet engineers who helped develop these cars, and have extensive experience and advanced driving credentials, piloted them during the fast laps, highlighting the depth of talent and performance within General Motors.

The Chevrolet team now has the fastest official laps set by an American manufacturer at the Nürburgring Nordschleife.
Corvette ZR1X vehicle dynamics engineer Drew Cattell completed a 6:49.275 lap in the electrified all-wheel drive ZR1X and now has the fastest lap time of any non-professional racecar driver at the Nürburgring in the list of official record laps. ZR1 vehicle dynamics engineer Brian Wallace set a 6:50.763 time in the 1,064-horsepower ZR1.

The 670-horsepower Corvette Z06, with the most powerful naturally aspirated V8 ever put in a production car, set a lap of 7:11.826 with vehicle performance manager Aaron Link behind the wheel.

“No auto manufacturer has done a Nürburgring lap attempt like this before,” said GM President Mark Reuss.
“From development through production, and now at the Nürburgring Nordschleife, the Green Hell, we have clearly shown there is no limit to what our GM engineers and vehicles can accomplish. These are the best Corvettes in history, period.”

The new documentary “Homegrown Speed: A Corvette Story” goes behind the scenes and showcases the journey from GM’s Milford Proving Ground to Germany, illustrating the intensity and precision of pursuing three lap times with three separate Corvette variants and three different drivers.
In addition to the engineers who set the lap times, the film features Reuss, Senior Vice President of Product Programs, Safety, Integration and Motorsports Ken Morris and Corvette Executive Chief Engineer Tony Roma.

Official N‘Ring Times = Z06@ 7:11:826; ZR1@6:50:796: & ZR1X@6:49:025

Ring Results

HOT Laps for all 3 C8s, Z06, ZR1 and ZR1-X

From GM :

The eighth-generation Chevrolet Corvette just set two of the 10 fastest production-car lap times ever recorded at the Nürburgring. The rear-drive Corvette ZR1 lapped the ‘Ring at 6:50.763; the all-wheel-drive Corvette ZR1X completed its lap in 6:49.275. And the naturally-aspirated Corvette Z06 earned a 7:11.826 lap time.
Suffice it to say, the eighth-generation Corvette is more than just robust, it’s a Nürburgring legend.

Morris is a senior VP of Product Programs, Product Safety, Integration and Motorsports at General Motors, leading the global team that oversees vehicle development from inception to market debut. He’s also a ‘Ring veteran, having visited the German test track for the first time back in 1997 as a young engineer. “I ran about six laps that time, and since then I’ve run about 2,000 more,” Morris told GM News.

When Corvette engineers began development on the 1,064-horsepower ZR1 and 1,250-horsepower-combined ZR1X, Nürburgring lap times were a top priority.
“When you get to ZR1 and ZR1X levels of capability, we want to document that for everyone to see just how proud we are of our product and our development process,” Morris said.
“The statement we're trying to make with Corvette is, this is world-class performance, and the Nürburgring is the most difficult track you can possibly attempt this type of thing on. This is not only a statement for Chevrolet, it's a statement for the engineers and their commitment to excellence and making these cars as good as they can possibly be.”

That commitment extends to driving at the harrowing Nürburgring. And unlike many other automakers, Chevrolet didn’t hire professional racecar drivers to set ‘Ring times. Corvette ZR1X vehicle dynamics engineer Drew Cattell earned the 6:49.275 lap in the electrified all-wheel drive ZR1X, giving him the fastest officially recorded lap time of any non-professional racecar driver at the Nürburgring. ZR1 vehicle dynamics engineer Brian Wallace set the 6:50.763 time in the 1,064 horsepower ZR1, and Corvette vehicle performance manager Aaron Link drove the Z06 to it's 7:11.826 lap time.

“We had the development engineers set the times,” Morris said. “Think about how daunting that is they’re not professional racecar drivers who only drive, they're engineers who happen to be really, really capable drivers as well. They’ve been dialing in everything, like the electronic limited slip differential, the shock tuning, how the steering feels, how the brakes feel, stability control.
All those things they know inside and out, so they can maximize the car’s speed at the Nürburgring.”

Knowing the car is just half the battle. “The demands on a driver at the Nürburgring are of the utmost,” Morris said. “It’s a 12.9-mile lap, and every corner, every section is different.
To keep your focus up, to maximize your performance at each one of those 73 corners, knowing exactly where to place the car, it’s an enormous challenge mentally as well as physically.”

With the Corvette ZR1X currently recognized as the fastest American production car to ever lap the Nürburgring, it’s safe to say that strategy paid off. “I personally am super proud of being able to recognize the kind of talent we have inside the company,” Morris said. “We're not writing checks for people to engineer or drive this car.
These are our employees.”