keagan

From this weeks Answered Thread in Ask Tadge.

"So why did we call it a Z06? Yes, it is a bit different formulation than the last few generations. It is however consistent in that it is the quickest car around the track we know how to make. That has been validated by numerous third parties. Last week, we were finally able to confirm the performance of the car on a continuous lap of the Nurburgring. We are putting together the press release and will have the lap time and video out shortly. I can tell you we were more than satisfied with the results."

ChrisN123

7:13.8

(Guess)

lawdogg149

7:07. Any bets?

jvp

Good guess. I'd bet that's too high.

Renn23

Was going to guess 7:08. If the new GT3RS is 7:20 and costs nearly $200K (with options) this should be a great comparison.

URBAN LEGEND

In before things get hot in here.

ChrisN123

I'll bet I'm closer. Under 7:10 implies a TON of custom tuning and performance bits that make those cars very far away from stock. The "Weissach Package" for the 918 appears custom built for the 'Ring and costs more than the Z06, for example..... To be clear: JUST THE "Ring kit" costs more than the MSRP for the Z06.

jvp

While folks are getting all hot and bothered debating the 'Ring time, here's another tidbit to discuss and debate: Should GM keep spending money to send cars over there for engineering validation? A Corvette team member recently told me that the new N'Ring owners have a policy about showing videos collected by manufacturers. The N'Ring somehow claims rights to those recordings, and they can only be released to the public after the manufacturer pays a 25000 Euro charge!

IMHO: that's lunacy. I'll be right there cheering Mero on while watching the video with everyone else once it's released. But 25K Euro? Um. Were I in that industry, I'd happily tell the N'Ring owners to sit'n'spin.

Movie Muscle

About time!

ChrisN123

I think they should charge $100K. The N'Ring is probably one of the most under-monetized brands in the automotive industry. I'm glad someone woke up to its potential. If they overcharge, companies won't pay. Free market, no?

jvp

My suspicion based purely on guess-work here is: If the manufacturers decide the 25K ransom isn't worth paying, they may tell the 'Ring to go soak. They'll record all the video they want but keep it locked up for in-house engineering scrutiny and we'll never get to see it.

My counter-argument is: save some money. Pick 3 or 4 really difficult tracks here in the states and do all of your validation here. No one track will be able to match the 'Ring, but the combination of several may be able to. And I'll wager the overall cost in traveling to 3 or 4 tracks here will pale in comparison to the total cost of sending cars and a team to Germany.

NSC5

In terms of advertising costs $28K U.S. (roughly 25K Euro) is nothing. As long as they are successful in getting a desirable time, and it sounds like this is the case, then the cost of transport, travel, and "local fees" are more than offset by the value of the calibration data, experience/lessons learned, and the promotional value given the N-ring cachet.

I remember the discussions a few years ago about "The Ring" possibly going away and that is some prime real estate where it is located. If extracting additional fees helps keep its traditional role that is a positive.

BruZe06

Agree 100%, the 'Ring is the ONLY place of its kind in the world, so charging $25K to a manufacture is nothing. That's not even 1 second worth of certain TV commercial air time cost.

heavychevy

The Ring needs money, car manufacturers make MILLIONS from published rings times. 25k euro is chump change to them to be able to test their cars there.

Plus the Nurburgring has the leverage, many manufacturers have built facilities there and it's what is expected from the motoring community.

That being said, Porsche may not pay because they hardly ever provide any proof of their lap times. Out of all of the 911 GT3's, Turbo's, GT2's CGT the only proof they have provided is what the 991 S and 918? Pitiful.

SBC_and_a_stick

I'm all about keeping the 'ring alive. However, they tried to build a Disneyland around it. Why should GM pay for their expansive buildings?

I rented the M racer, paid the tolls, bought the shirts, and even the mug. Why should I have to pay more for my car too? Seems crazy to me.

URBAN LEGEND

Yes. They should continue to develop there. Any car that has weakness will show around that track. The times shouldn't be posted. I wouldn't.

heavychevy

Costs run down hill. GM got bailed out, they shouldn't be so quick to condemn someone for poor business decisions. It costs money to keep the ring operating, manufacturers should have to foot some of the bill.

I doubt 27k is really going to put a dent in your wallet when it's amortized over the 5k Z06's GM will sell per year over several years before they test another Z06 model in 5-6 years.

keagan

7:06

Halltech

6:59

lawdogg149

Move all us testing to road atlanta, sebring, laguna Seca and Circuits of the america. Average all 4 tracks and make that the US standard. To hell with the germans.