As first reported by Roadshow, in the trailer for the new Corvette C8 documentary “Revolution: The Mid-Engine Corvette Story,” there is a lap time hidden at 0:52 seconds.
Added in with special effects to make it look like just another one of the chalk graffiti items on the track, the time of 7:29.9 has been confirmed by Chevrolet as the legit time that the C8 Z51 prototype made it around the Green Hell in the summer of 2019.
Driving the lap was 5 times 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Oliver Gavin from the Corvette Racing Team, who also drove the number 4 C8.R for the first time in anger at the 2020 Daytona 24 Hours. So if anyone could drive a Corvette fast around a twisting, gnarly track, it’s him. He even tweeted about it when the trailer went live:
I had a great time behind the wheel of the Corvette Stingray last summer in Germany. Take a close look at the Corvette Documentary Trailer to see how we did, they even let me set a laptime! @Corvette @TeamChevy pic.twitter.com/XtM6Vu3j92
— Oliver Gavin (@olivergavin) February 4, 2020
Unfortunately, no other Corvette has set an official lap time, so we don’t have much to compare against, although some publications like the German magazine Sport Auto have taken a C7 Z06 around the ‘Ring in approximately 7:16.
The official time of the C8 does put it squarely in the middle of some heavyweights, like the Mercedes Benz SLS Black Series and the older McLaren MP4-12C, and has only been beaten by one other Chevy, the Camaro ZL1 1LE which lapped in 7:16.04, and is the top of the top spec for the 6th generation Camaro.
Keeping in mind that this is still the base model with an optional performance package added, it is an incredible lap time. We can’t wait until the Z06, Z07, or ZR1 version of the C8 has a go, as we expect the C8 to break firmly into supercar territory and maybe ruffle some Italian, German, and British feathers on the way.
