Before the C8 was revealed to the world on July 18th for the 2020 model year, the mid-engined ‘Vette took to the Nurburgring with Corvette Racing driver Oliver Gavin behind the wheel. He didn’t share the best time of the Stingray, nor did lead development engineer Mike Petrucci.
Petrucci told Motor Authority the pre-production prototype “exceeded them [the goals] and did better than the Corvette team even hoped.” PR manager Kevin Kelly doesn’t know when the time will be released either, and that’s a bit of a bummer considering the order books are open.
At the Green Hell in Germany, the best lap for a series-production ‘Vette is the 7:04 of the 750-horsepower ZR1. With warmer tires and better conditions, the most exciting member of the C7 family would’ve posted 6 minutes 57 seconds. The thing is, you can’t expect a 495-horsepower Stingray to best the ZR1 despite the mid-engined layout on such a long circuit.
It would be best to expect the C8 Corvette Stingray with the Z51 Performance Package to have bested the ZR1 from the C6 generation, which lapped the racing track in 7:19:68 back in June 2011. If that proves to be the case, then the C8 would be faster than the Ferrari 488 GTB, Dodge Viper ACR, Jaguar XE SV Project 8, and the 997.2 Porsche 911 GT2 RS.
A seriously impressive result, and as we wait for confirmation, let’s remember that the C8 costs less than $60,000 including the destination charge. Opting for the Z51 Performance Package adds $5,000 to the retail price, and the sports exhaust unlocks five more horsepower and five more torques from the LT2. That’s right; a mid-engined sports car with a pushrod V8!
It’s hard to comprehend how Chevy could engineer so many things into a single car without pushing the price into 911 territory, but it’s impressive nonetheless. For reference, the price point of the Stingray Z51 allows you to choose the four-cylinder turbo 718 Cayman as the only alternative.
Those interested in the quarter-mile run should look forward to 121 miles per hour at 11.3 seconds. Top speed? Make that 194 miles per hour for the standard model or 184 miles per hour for the Stingray Z51.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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