Corvette Boss Downplays ZR1's Chances Of Beating AMG ONE Record originally appeared on Autoblog.
ZR1 May Not Snatch AMG ONE Record, But Let's See
With 1,064 horsepower, a mid-engine layout, and plenty of downforce, the C8 Corvette ZR1 is one of the most exciting cars to come off a production line, American or otherwise. All of the ingredients add up to something so spectacular that former Corvette engineer Jim Mero speculates it might even dethrone the $2.8 million Mercedes-AMG ONE at the top of the Nürburgring leaderboard.
But according to someone who works at GM right now, specifically Tony Roma, who replaced the legendary Tadge Juechter as executive chief engineer for the global Corvette and performance cars team, that may be a bridge too far. Speaking with CarBuzz, he said, "I wish the car was that fast. I've seen so many things online, but just stay tuned."
Corvette's Own Teaser Seemed To Suggest A Record
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Car enthusiasts love to form a good conspiracy, and automakers (particularly American ones) love to hide Easter eggs in announcements, so when Chevrolet teased news from the Green Hell on June 28 (6/28), it naturally led to speculation that this was a coded message indicating a time below that of the AMG ONE (6 minutes, 29 seconds). But just as Ford downplayed the Mustang GTD's chances on the Nordschleife before setting the first sub-7-minute time for an American manufacturer, Roma reminds us that this is a unique place at which to seek a record, with numerous complexities.
"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," said Roma. "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 [where Mercedes is], so we can't just go back next week. That's why you haven't seen us set a lap record attempt."
We Can Still Expect Big Things
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These issues are all pertinent. While we would all love to see a plucky, twin-turbo, V8 supercar with a six-figure asking price be an American David to the German Goliath of a multi-million-dollar hypercar built by the might of Mercedes with the powertrain and expertise of a Formula One dynasty behind it, the reality is that mastering the Nürburgring with minimal real-world practice is a feat in itself. However, Roma suggests that the ZR1 should comfortably improve on the front-engine GTD's time.
"You can see the effort Ford had to put into the GTD. And they had to go back twice to get decent weather," said Roma, possibly suggesting the ZR1 could outpace the GTD even in less-than-ideal conditions. "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." Corvettes wearing Stingray, Z06, and ZR1 badges have been spied on the Nürburgring, so perhaps multiple announcements will be made at once...
Corvette Boss Downplays ZR1's Chances Of Beating AMG ONE Record first appeared on Autoblog on Jul 11, 2025
This story was originally reported by Autoblog on Jul 11, 2025, where it first appeared.
