The Nürburgring Nordschleife is hallowed ground for fans of fiendish speed and tortured tires. It’s the storied “Green Hell” where manufacturers pit their latest and greatest against a historic circuit. As a result, it seems like a natural foe for the C8 Chevrolet Corvette Z06. However, even with a blistering lap time, critics think it should have been faster. 

The C8 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 put down a 7:10.51 around the Nürburgring, making it one of the fastest American cars to do it

According to the German publication sport auto, the eighth-generation model finished its Nordschleife lap in 7:10.51. That time establishes the C8 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 as one of the fastest American production cars ever to take on the Nürburgring. Based on my time behind the wheel of the Z06, I don’t find it hard to believe.

For instance, the Corvette model surpasses the lap times of the 2010 Dodge Viper ACR and the previous-generation Z06 by 0:01.62 and 0:03.39, respectively. However, the flat-plane, mid-engine Corvette didn’t outrun the C7 Corvette ZR1 or the 2017 Dodge Viper ACR.

Moreover, the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 didn’t quite live up to some lofty lap time expectations. YouTuber and Nürburgring track rat Misha Charoudin claimed that portions of the test driver’s lap were slower than they could’ve been and certainly slower than a competitor like a Porsche 911 GT3 RS. “Something is with the shifts. I think the car is in fully automatic mode.”

He points out that each presumptuous shift could be shaving valuable tenths of a second off the lap time. Moreover, Charoudin, like sport auto, suggests that the long fifth gear is, in fact, keeping the Corvette from hitting certain high speeds. Still, even with track considerations and shift concerns, the Z06’s lap time puts it among many greats. Let’s just wait and see what the Ford Mustang GTD has to say about it with its sub-seven-minute goals. 

Check out the sport auto video featuring the Z06’s hot lap below!