Hot Laps: 2009 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 @ Virginia International Raceway - Car and Driver

[triplexxxsatyr]

American LeMans Series has added VIR to its schedule.

Whoo hoo!

[GTIEdition35]

"Yes, I'd like mine in Torch Red, please?"

[GTIEdition35]

"Yes, I'd like mine in Torch Red, please?"

[fadethetrade]

The porsche gt3 looked much more stable and just as fast,in their other video.Porsche is the winner for practical supercars.

[HelimanZ06]

@fadethetrade Just goes to show that LOOKS can be deceiving. In fact the $152,000 GT3 RS was 2.5 seconds slower than the Z06 and costs $55,000 MORE! Can't wait to see how well the Vette does at VIR on the new Pilot Sport Cup tires. They have resulted in a dramatic improvement of the Nurburgring lap times. (The GT3 RS has come stock with Pilot Sport Cup tires for years and years.)

[Rafagafanhotobra]

You get lots of grip, torque, lightness, power AND sound by under 100k.

[SEMAChannel]

Nice vid, thanks for sharing. Please keep 'em coming.

[fretwizard420]

@joshua626 Dude, don't go flappin about a Shitstang GT500 on a ZR1 video. You're just bound to start a whole shit load of arguments. Cause here we all know who's king, and it ain't your Ford Mistake....I mean Mustang.....

[Vespahipcat]

Awsome bit of driving! 

[Dillon1108]

dude when will car video games look like this? lol

[legonds]

At least a lamborghini would last more then 5k miles without falling apart

[matman142]

@legonds yeah cause lambo's are known for being reliable... LOL NOT. dude the corvette is meant to be a daily driver if it needs to be, the lambo not so much, so quit your bitchin and be thankful we have cars like this at all!

[joshua626]

So the zo6 ran a 2:58 sec lap.LOL Uh the new 2011 shelby gt 500 ran a 2:58 sec. lap and cost about 56k while the zo6 is like 75 or something.

Fuck that ned I'm goin to get me a Shellby mustang...YEEEHA

[tripleheshy]

@joshua626 Yeah after that Rustang had to be highly modified with that oh so predictable blower that Ford seems to like so much. Let's see that POS Super Snake, with it's 700+hp, get anywhere near that 2:51.8 that this ZR1 just did. I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you my friend.

[HelimanZ06]

@joshua626 Actually the Z06 ran a lap time of 2:53.5 and the Shelby GT500 ran a lap time of 3:04.0. This can be confirmed if you search YouTube for: Lightning Lap 2011: LL3 Class - Car and Driver and Lightning Lap 2011: LL2 Class - Car and Driver, respectively. The cars were tested on the same day, under the same conditions, using the same fuel, and driven by the same driver.

Not that the GT500 aren't great cars but they definitely aren't in the same class with a Z06 or ZR1.

[joshua626]

@HelimanZ06 You are so right, but their is another video thats on youtube where the 11 gt500 is running at Virginia Raceway. You will be surprised at the time.

[HelimanZ06]

@joshua626 There are several things to consider when comparing the two GT500 times:

First ... the SVT team tested a pre-production car driven by Gene Martindale, a former professional race car driver and design engineer making numerous passes. The Car and Driver lap was driven by magazine editors and had no special equipment or setup.

Second ... the SVT team test had near perfect track conditions in term of track temperature and air temperature. Not so for Lightning Lap event.

[HelimanZ06]

@joshua626 A proper comparison would to let Jim Mero spend the day at VIR driving a Corvette set up by Pratt and Miller and publish his best time. Both cars should be run on the same day.

You simply can't compare professional drivers with amatures or stock showroom vehicles to those set up by racing teams, especially if they are run at different times of year under different track conditions.

[HelimanZ06]

@joshua626 One Mo thing ...

The 2011 Shelby GT500 was tested with the new Goodyear G2 tires developed specifically for that car. They are pretty sticky and are comparable to the Michelin PS2 tires. The time you quoted for the Z06 was with the old Goodyear tires which pretty much suck.

The 2012 Z06 are available with the new Michelin Pilot Sport Cup tires. To give you an idea how they perform search for 2012 ZR1 and Z06 on the Nurburgring. Both cars were driven by Jim Mero.

[barnetr2]

Yikes! That car is scary FAST!!!

[mante78]

Lovely car, would like to see a driver that knows the lines of VIR take a "hot lap" next time.

[beerandtits69]

That thing sounds like sex.

[SUPERBADKBOY]

You Fagit Little Lamborghini And Ferrari Lovers...How Do You Guys Fell That 100'000 Doller Cars Can Beat Your Shit 400'000 Doller Cars....Wow That Sucks Dunkie Dick Hahahahahahahaha...

[aieljose]

@SUPERBADKBOY i couldn't care less. hahaha. Your americans just dont get it........ hahahahahah. BTW- It's "feel" not "fell" dumbfuck. Go back to school.

[mtross70]

overpriced unreliable spaghetti machines getting owned by a vette thats 1/4 the price. priceless

[rangerssuck20]

Driver in lp670 and Zr1 sucks. Lp670 = 98 mph cresting first turn in the esses...Zr1 does 108/109.....R8V10 does 116.....Something seem wrong!!!!????

[rangerssuck20]

R8V10 crested the first right in the esses 18 mph quciker than the LP670!!!!!

[rangerssuck20]

Just reviewed...it was 11 mph slower in the lp670 than the zr1...FAIL

[50908]

ZR1 and ACR for the Win. Over all overrated imports, and Exotics. with a quarter price from the Exotics.

[rickstarks]

how in the hell is the speedometer calibrated the numbers are not evenly distributed

[gnthndrw]

He really had to work to get that time lol

[mtross70]

where are the guys from the UK always bashing corvettes? they're missing in action on this thread.

[xabipp]

@mtross70 "where are the guys from the UK always bashing corvettes? they're missing in action on this thread"

Damn good question!! Yeah I know I'm replying to a post from over a year but still...

[SrRdRacinG]

Two amazing American cars leading the way! ZR1 and ACR!

[13tomabram]

see i love how haters act like the ZR1 is SOOO hard to handle. Just say you dont like the car. Dont lie and say its hard to handle. Its funny how this guy didnt even break a sweat. LOL

[Vespahipcat]

Awsome! A video is wortha thousand copies of car and driver..:) I did buy the lightning lap issue...

Enough of the vette gtr drama already! Go to your local track and you can see for yourself who is faster.

[mtross70]

zr1: thrashing europes finest for 100k. great job by GM! corvettes are lap hounds

[billyslo87]

@mtross70 It sure is. That's why it won the 2010 Car and Driver Lightning Lap.

[o6rangem9an]

ZR1 is hard to handle and Audi R8 v8 is smoother

[mtross70]

it's hard because of the torque and horsepower not because it's of lower quality. ferrari is using it's suspension in their cars now.

[praetorian2150]

thats cute, whered u get that, top gear?

[4fastdrs]

@o6rangem9an TOP GEAR FAN BOY, aka MR. POSER

[Nick1944]

A $105,000 car beats a $460,000 lambo around the track. Pretty embarassing if i were the lambo guys. Put an extra $355K into the ZR1 and just think what it would be like!

[MaxwellReviresco]

Can't believe the the ZR1 beat the Lamo 670! before that car came out I thought for sure it would kill everything. I'm suprised that the car with no computer help, no F1 transmission, and the biggest handful was the quickest.

[bdub232]

u r an idiot. Go to caranddriver d0t c0m to see the vid. youtube messes up the aodio synch.

[bdub232]

youtube vids are very often out of synch when it comes to vid and audio.

It's no fake!!

[alexserra11]

yah... mayb.. but i still cant realy see it

[and2244rew]

Lightning Lap is always my favorite issue from car and driver. Its nice to see numbers as well as opinions here. I've heard a lot of blind praise for Porshe and Ferrari but niether could handle their Corvette rivals. Plus lighning lap tends to expose weaknesses, like the brakes on many of the Japanese cars (s2000 ISF 370Z). Also on a more bais note the top 3 cars are American :) I love it!

[elkangryx]

Fake fake fake fake fake fake fake, that rpm´s is fake!!!!!

[alexserra11]

wats fake about it?

[fat420cracker]

@elkangryx - Yup youre right. Im sure Car and Driver is in the business of posting fake stuff all the time.

[KevinFL]

I have a ZR1, I never thought it was that fast on the track. It just breaks into the 10's at the strip

[jackbinbong]

top 5 best engine notes of all time, hands down

[SRT92]

Damn the zr1 is super glued to the track

[iphone3gJMW]

love that car/engine/noise

[nuckdukem1290]

i love that rev sound! so great! from a mighty LS9 engine!

[CaptainSlow8]

@coolerdude44

I meant the American price. why the brits jack the price up so much is beyond me.

According to your figures, they up the price about $54,000 on the ZR1 over what we pay. That's almost half the price of the car.

[coolerdude44]

@CaptainSlow8 it's because of enormous import duties. that's the thing, in america the zr1 costs like half the price of a ferrari 430/lamborghini gallardo. in the uk, they're roughly the same price, so who in their right mind would choose the zr1?

[CaptainSlow8]

@coolerdude44

I would love a gallardo or a 430. But I will be lucky if I can afford a ZR1 let alone these $200,000 supercars.

And I'm sorry that Europe has to put huge taxes and duties on the price of the ZR1 just so the European cars have a chance of competing. Because if you look at the American prices, it's hard to beat the performance per dollar of the ZR1

[coolerdude44]

@CaptainSlow8 for the thousandth time, i wasn't referring to the american prices. jeez.

[Ninerfan101]

Awsome car

[coolerdude44]

i'd rather have a 911 turbo, but i will of course say that this car is a great car.

[VetteGarageTV]

Love the overlay with the gauges and narration. VIR is a heck of a track, great video guys!

[D0M1N8R1x]

This guy should teach the stig how to drive. top gear did a great job making it look like corvette was a huge POS.

[ApachyDaro]

@D0M1N8R1x

Well its built quality is scheisse, but did you watch Stig's lap?

[mak450]

@ApachyDaro

there's nothing wrong with it's build quality....aside from that roof fiasco and the seats.

[CaptainSlow8]

I think what Top gear meant was that the build quality was not what they were used to with other supercars.

What Top Gear failed to mention is that the corvette is way cheaper and in "Dampish" conditions still smoked the AWD R8. If conditions were dry I imagine that the gap would have been greater.

[coolerdude44]

@CaptainSlow8 it's not way cheaper, the audi costs £103,000 and the zr1 costs £102,000.

[ApachyDaro]

@coolerdude44

In USA the Zr1 is about $30-40 grand cheaper than the R8 V10...

[coolerdude44]

@ApachyDaro does top gear film in the usa? no, so what's your point?

[ApachyDaro]

@coolerdude44

they did, done some episodes here. Now are you ignorant? I gave you the American price for it, which is probably what CaptainSlow8 meant. I see that in the UK it get import tax/duties on it which pumps up the price.

[coolerdude44]

@ApachyDaro he asked why top gear didn't explain that there's a significant price gap between the two cars. the answer is that in his country, the price gap doesn't exist. in fact, the zr1 might even cost more than the r8.

[ApachyDaro]

@coolerdude44

Ahhhhhh :D

[sparks444]

Speaking of Top Gear, I wish they could have used a POV like camera like in this clip.

In the first season they used give full speed, G-forces and track map on screen during power laps. I don't know why they stopped doing that.

[disbsam333]

LOL @ taxes. We don't have em'.

[MaxwellReviresco]

I can see all of what u are saying...why pay the same price for ZR1 when u can get Audi R8 V10 w/better interior quality (in the UK) Some points may be if u like a drivers car u'd like the ZR1, or what top gear said "more fun" Also maybe b/c with many ppl thinking the same way as u there would be less ZR1's in the UK? or how about the fact that it's over 7seconds faster around this track? or the better breaks, more hp, cheaper maintenance, cheap hp mods, a tire swap gets u down to 10.7s?

[coolerdude44]

@MaxwellReviresco it's more fun on a track, in the real world the audi is quicker and a more welcome companion.

i realize the zr1 is a more accomplished speed machine, but only so many people will actually use it for what it is.

for £100K, the audi can be everything you'd ever want and more, whereas the zr1 can only do fast and crazy.

[MaxwellReviresco]

@coolerdude44 That may be true, but I think people that would buy either of these two cars would by them for that reason b/c they r the fastest, most powerful, race built cars compared to their counterparts. People that would want what u explained would opt for an Audi R8 V8, or GS Vette wich are still faster then people like that could drive anyways & is more civil still in every way. 90% of the people that buy these well kown race cars for the street, buy it b/c they r just that race cars.

[coolerdude44]

@MaxwellReviresco lmao wow you're not getting this. oh, the zr1 isn't good? well, another corvette is!

all corvettes are the same, shit interior, cheap suspension, bang-for-your-buck performance.

they're not good on the road compared to other sports cars.

[MaxwellReviresco]

@coolerdude44 lol...so u have a bias opinion...now i see. All vettes r the same? well if ur talking a car that does what other cars 2x's the cost can do then yes they r all the same. ZR1 has better breaks, MR suspension, one of the most praised motors in world, & this video proves 7sec faster than u loveable R8 even faster than the 670Lambo...it does all this w/o any computer help or F1 gear boxes, & without losing any diver experence yet can actually go up & down driveways & over speed bumps.

[MaxwellReviresco]

@coolerdude44 maybe ur not getting it, not one single person that can afford these cars r going to use them as a daily driver man, & even if they did the ZR1 is highly practical especially adjustable MR suspension. Now the Audi would be the most forgiving in some cases but not all & not by a big margin man. With a price tag of 155k it damn well should! The only thing the ZR1 lacks is interior...& with the extra 40k I could fill the cockpit w/ carbon figer & leather plus a down payment on a house

[4fastdrs]

@MaxwellReviresco & WHO THE HELL, says... i think I'll spent 155K on the R8 V10 because it's faster then the R8 v8, only to hope they don't run into anyone driving a ZR1??? yea, i think not! I love the R8, it's a great car, BUT 7sec around a 4.2 mile track is a life time, & aside from ZR1's you would also have to live in fear of GT-R's... yea not for my 150K, I spend that kind of money, I don't want my wife looking at me like, " you can't even catch a nissan?" 150K, means no explaining losses!

[MaxwellReviresco]

Many things to comment on here...but for one, u may fear GTR's in a ZR1 but I wouldn't b/c I know how to handle a high hp car. I don't rest my skills on a fail proof F1 gear box, & AWD computer controlled systems. FYI GTR only run 11.7s why would I fear them unless it raining?, lol & from what Ive read from different tests w/o the LC system GTRs are running 11.9-12.3.

[mtross70]

they're fast in launch mode. without it 12.3 is accurate

[MaxwellReviresco]

...Also GTR "Ring times are total crap, as well as just about every other car. I'll send u a link that's real informative. And to clear the air...I love the R8, & R8V-10 but for me if I had to pick only one I'd rather have a drivers car like the ZR1, but if I could Id love to own both ;-)

[MaxwellReviresco]

@coolerdude44 "all corvettes are the same, shit interior, cheap suspension, bang-for-your-buck performance"

So yeah bang-for-your-buck eveyone agree's, shit interior solved with the price difference, suspension not with the ZR1, which proves u know little about how different a base moddle Corvette is compared to the ZR1 or vettes of the past.

[mtross70]

correction: suspension of the zr1 is manufactured by delphi(GM owned) and is being used by ferrari. very advanced and very expensive.

[mak450]

this reminds me, what ever happened with lightning lap 09?

[mak450]

whoops just went back and watched from the beginning, nevermind

[OneOfaKind949]

I'd still rather drive a GTR.

[venom5809]

Good god this thing is fast.

[shjesus]

good times ..the lp670 murcielago did 2.53 how embaresing

[Tarturus8803]

lp640, dipshit

[Towelman20]

i just love it how th zr1 is only 105k and it delvers performance tht only top end supercars costing 3-10 times as much tht have troubleing keeping up.

[chumanho]

Awesome car! Kudos to Chevy for not wasting $ making another flappy paddle gearbox...

[adogg619]

It's about time Car and Driver put up a real video. Please no more "Name that Exhaust Note" videos, that is just boring.

[geedunk13]

you should make more videos like this

[asdfgoogle]

This is awesome! I would love to see more videos like this. It really shows what kind of performance these cars are capable of!

[BillyO8834]

This car needs a better driver. Not saying this guy did bad, but the car could have had a better time if the driver had just a bit more skill.

[sik68]

Hopefully this is a clue that C&D is releasing their Lightning Lap soon. I've been waiting!!!

[HeadTater]

If my memory is correct, it comes out in January. I could check some of my past issues, but I'm a bit too lazy for that. That ZR1 is a beast.

[superartus]

Great driving, for those who think the ZR1 is a easy track car think again. It requires some skill to really control that back end. I'm impressed by this driver.

[kief4diamonds]

that makes two of us...i had my hands stretched in front of me and was trying to put myself in his shoes in front of my 65inch 1080p screen and I was floored at how well he/she was doing. im planning on owning a supercharged gran sport black with red stripes or just cyber gray.

[iZ28LS7]

Great video and I love that HUD!!!

[tomatoe58]

this guys a great driver

[ghostswimmer923]

i love the zr1

[305pride]

awesome. i wana see a pure track car of the zr1

[112namrepus]

What would you do to this car to make it a track car? Better seats? It's a pretty good car for 120K. But I'd rather have an R8. That's just me. But this looks like it need a spoiler like the ACR viper then it could put down even more power in the corners, especially the highspeed ones.

[305pride]

idk. jenny craig it or something.