Virginia International Raceway has been labeled one of the country’s most challenging racetracks, and Car and Driver’s inaugural 2006 event, dubbed the Lightning Lap, utilized VIR’s Grand Course to establish one of the benchmarks of performance testing for manufacturers. With its mix of ultra-high-speed straights and tight hairpin corners, the 4.1 miles and 24 turns of the Grand Course are the closest one will get to the Nurburgring without a passport and plane ticket. The litmus-testing Lightning Lap has not skipped a beat in 17 years, nor has the formidable Corvette, with a remarkable 16 examples lapping at lightning speeds around the iconic raceway.
Here are all 16 Corvettes, ranked from slowest to fastest.
The time difference between last and first is mesmerizing, and a true testimony to how much our beloved Corvette has improved over the last three generations. For context, the record for the fastest Lightning Lap belongs to the 2012 McLaren Senna, with a time of 2:34.9. Conversely, the slowest time is owned by the 2022 Kia Carnival, with a time of 3:39.1.
#16
3:09.3
2006 C6 Z51
More Context: Three’s Company (before and after times)
Deeper Dive: Full Car and Driver 2006 article
#15
3:03.6
2007 C6 Z51
More Context: Three’s Company
Deeper Dive: Full Car and Driver 2007 article
#14
3:01.2
2008 C6 Z51
More Context: Three’s Company
Deeper Dive: Full Car and Driver 2008 article
#13
3:01.1
2006 C6 Z06
More Context: Three’s Company
Deeper Dive: Full Car and Driver 2006 article
#12
2:58.8
2010 C6 Grand Sport
More Context: Three’s Company
Deeper Dive: Full Car and Driver 2009 article
#11
2:58.2
2007 C6 Z06
More Context: Three’s Company
Deeper Dive: Full Car and Driver 2007 article
#10
2:53.8
2014 C7 Stingray
More Context: Three’s Company
Deeper Dive: Full Car and Driver 2014 article
#9
2:53.5
2011 C6 Z06
More Context: Three’s Company
Deeper Dive: Full Car and Driver 2011 article
#8
2:51.8
2009 C6 ZR1
More Context: Three’s Company
Deeper Dive: Full Car and Driver 2009 article
#7
2:50.7
2012 C6 ZR1
More Context: Three’s Company
Deeper Dive: Full Car and Driver 2012 article
#6
2:49.0
2020 C8 Stingray Z51
More Context: Three’s Company
Deeper Dive: Full Car and Driver 2021 article
#5
2:47.1
2017 C7 Grand Sport
More Context: Three’s Company
Deeper Dive: Full Car and Driver 2016 article
#4
2:45.9
2024 C8 E-Ray
More Context: Three’s Company
Deeper Dive: Full Car and Driver 2024 article
Recent CorvSport Feature on this E-Ray
#3
2:44.6
2015 C7 Z06
More Context: Three’s Company
Deeper Dive: Full Car and Driver 2015 article
#2
2:39.5
2019 C7 ZR1
More Context: Three’s Company
Deeper Dive: Full Car and Driver 2018 article
#1
2:38.6
2023 C8 Z06
More Context: The Top 10 Since 2006
Deeper Dive: Full Car and Driver 2023 article
CorvSport Feature on this 2023 Z06
Whew, what a list! Are you as impressed as I am with the performance gains since that first run in 2006? Am I the only one wishing the C5 Z06 could take a stab at this iconic event? If you want to keep up to date with all the fresh Corvette news and maintain a pulse on the lifestyle and culture of this exciting, iconic brand, CorvSport has the fastest-growing Corvette community on our Facebook page, with over 173,000 followers (54,000 since January 2023!). Come join other hardcore enthusiasts and say hello, Douglas B.
Bonus Feature
Why Car and Driver picked Virginia International Raceway [reposted from inaugural article]
“In theory, the time it takes a car to get around a road course is the best way to gauge its overall performance, because the quickest lap time requires a combination of braking, acceleration, grip, and handling. But there are few tracks that genuinely replicate a demanding stretch of public road. A great example is the Nürburgring in Germany, a long track about 50 miles southwest of Cologne. The Nordschleife, a part of the original circuit, is a 12.9-mile ribbon of blacktop that weaves a crazy course through the Eifel Mountains.
The Nordschleife’s length and elevation changes, along with an interesting combination of turns, provide a telling measure of a vehicle’s handling abilities. Add to that long straights of up to 1.5 miles and numerous braking zones, and you have the best one-lap measure of a vehicle’s overall performance. Its benchmark status is evidenced by the fact that most automakers test at the “Ring,” and hard-core enthusiasts around the globe know that a sub-eight-minute lap there distinguishes a car as truly special.
In the past year, we’ve been looking for a reasonable facsimile of the German test track, somewhere not 5000 miles from our Ann Arbor headquarters. We settled on Virginia International Raceway (VIR) in Danville for a number of reasons. The so-called Grand Course runs 4.2 miles, making it one of the longest road courses in the U.S. Although that’s only a third the distance of the Nordschleife, VIR has a similar combination of high-speed turns and sweepers draped over hilly countryside. It’s no track for the faint of heart.
A case can be made that a lap of VIR is as relevant a measure of overall performance as is a lap of the Ring. And so the lap times we set at VIR from this issue forth will become a new performance gauge at Car and Driver.”
