Mid-Engine C8 Corvette Goes for Timed Run Around Nurburgring

Famed Nurburgring aficionado Dale Lomas watched the C8 Corvette Zora run around the Nurburgring, and he has some reservations.

The C8 Corvette is ever closer to production ready. We have seen the spy shots, the shockingly accurate renderings and the preliminary track testing. However, Dale Lomas, the man who runs Nurburgring insider site Bridge to Gantry, and acts a part-time correspondent for Road & Track, has the next piece of the puzzle.

Lomas reports that he was on-hand at the ‘Ring during a private test session. These private sessions are conducted by manufacturers to test new vehicles without other vehicles being on track, in the way. Naturally, this is normally when manufacturers give it their all and go for lap records. After all, Nurburgring lap times have quickly become the most important stat for a performance car these days. Long gone are the days of quoting 0-60 figures or skidpad numbers, those are archaic measurements. If your supercar can’t lap the ‘Ring in less than seven minutes, no one cares.

So, according to Lomas, he spotted a C8 Corvette test mule running around the famed German road course. Lomas says the driver of the Corvette Zora was really on it, it looked like a hot lap. With his vantage point, Lomas had a greet view of the start/finish for the ‘Ring, so he whipped out his phone to record a rough stopwatch lap figure.

And the result, well, Lomas isn’t telling. Yes, really.

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Our meister of the Nurburgring says that lap times there are hotly contested, and, for whatever reason, if his claims aren’t accurate, or even if they are, he may become a wanted man. Fans of the marque and the manufacturer alike may come for him if he says what they don’t want to hear. Sad, but that’s the reality we live in.

So, what do you think? Did the C8 Zora break a record, or get sent back to the garages with its tailpipes tucked between its tires? Time will tell…

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Jake Stumph

Jake Stumph is a lifelong car enthusiast and racer, and former content editor for Internet Brands Automotive which he joined in 2015. His work has been featured by several other prominent automotive outlets, including Jalopnik and Autobytel.

He obtained a bachelor's degree in Political Science at the Ohio State University in 2013, then pivoted from covering politics and policy to writing about his automotive adventures, something that, he says, is a lot more fun. Since that time, he has established connections with most of the world's major automakers, as well as other key brands in the automotive industry.

He enjoys track days, drifting, and autocross, at least, when his cars are running right, which is uncommon.

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