Chevrolet has placed alot of bragging rights on their 7:42.9 lap of the Nurburgring Nordschleife in the C6 Z06, and that was an impressive lap looking at the top times turned by other production car, but Nissan just claimed a 7:38 lap in the new Skyline GTR with 45 less advertised HP and 600 pounds more weight. What I am curious about is, are these cars actually representative of what you can get from the factory (or are they stripped, ringers, etc?) and are they on OEM tires?

The new ZR1 should eclipse that 7:38 lap, but it'll actually be more expensive than the Skyline by quite a bit. In fact,even the Z06's list price is higher than Skyline's, so I look at this as possibly a response (intended or otherwise) from Nissan to the "bring it on" comment from Ed Pepper.

I'm hoping GM doesn't take this lying down and will look at responding next spring.

I do not know how the nissan cranked out that lap time it is smokin fast. Perhaps it had a big tail wind or was a tweaked version of the factory offering or the zo6 was driving in a snow storm. nissan will not withstand the fury of the corvette. I do not care if it is a legit time no nissan for me no matter how fast they get it to go. nice lookin and obviously a hot performer but still a rice burner. Hell I have been passed by suburu with wings, fart cans and nitrous wouldn't be caught dead in one.
That being said I really liked the look of the NSX and admittedly it was a performance machine but it wouldn't stand up to a corvette. imho

Bob's looking foward to seeing the ZR! hit 7.20's.

I still think the GTR will perform about the same as the C6 coupe.. not a z06...

Well see as it hits america's shores..

the HP over weight defies physics.it seems they made the same booboo as bmw :turn this dial,push this button,select this mode etc.a car that can go 0/60 in the 3,s takes 58 sec,s.the ring is for bragging rights,its not like they pull a car off the line and do a demo

I think the car and driver ultimate bullsh!t track test comparision will put the Corvette base coupe ahead of the nissan..

even if zero to 60 is faster in the 911 and GTR..

I'd say launch control would be cool in the vette though..

The 911 GT2 has it.. and I think its.. step on the brake... the rev the motor and it stops at exactly a predetermined rpm.. Let up on the clutch and away you go to 3.2 or 3.4 or 3.5 second 60 mph runs..

Its kind of cool technology that in our cars would cost about 50 bucks to GM.

Before WW2 started, most Americans thought that the best fighter plane the Japanese had was a bi-plane left over from the 1920's. Whether or not it was a specially prepared car, it still showed its taillights to the Vette. The other cars showing this kind of speed cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Vette drivers have usually taken pride in their ride showing well against more expensive cars. I just think that GM should try to reestablish superiority in that department, and not just with the ZR1.

Nissan has falsefied data before with the GTR years back..

They have a history of it..

So big whoopdee dooo if a modified car beats a stock car..

I hear Lexus is mouthing off that its LSF 2 seat coupe has beaten the GTR around the Ring..

Just like the BS story that the quality of american vehicles today is subpar to foreign cars..

The GTR and new Lexus LSF (which beat the nissan GTR times) are faster than corvette..

Well see once they hit the streets and the track in America..

Ever notice how it took those idiots in England to finally admit the corvette kicks European @ss.. and they still had some nonsense to complain about..

Sort of like being in Missouri...the show me state..

Lets see it happen here in the states ..

Here's what I think. A freakin' Nissan is just another name for "Datsun."

I offer to drive both cars around the ring or anywhere and then compare the elapsed time including 1/4 mi. That way it is a fair and valid comparison as I have not driven either car. No records are or will be threatened.
If I have to drive the vette first it might be difficult to remove me from the car. Just fair warning and a sincere offer consider breeze shot.

That's a very generous offer.

I thought so

i think the skyline is a all wheeel drive which will help with a lot of HP

All wheel drive is great as is the dual clutch sequential tranny for hard launching... and consistency..

No denying that.. yet as far as track performance?

I bet the C6 coupe/vert with 430 hp and 3300 lbs runs equal to the GTR if not faster..

Everyone keeps talking about how the GTR beat the Porsche 911 twin turbo..(supposedly) but didn't the ls2 400hp C6 beat the 911 twin turbo in a recent car and driver article comparison?

Personally I'd have liked to have seen a dual clutch sequential tranny being offered in the c6 but even without it...the six speed automatic and manual should still be more than enough for a road course show down..


Drag racing? It would take a skilled driver in the corvette coupe or vert to stay within a half a second of the GTR in a 60mph sprint from the line...or in a quarter mile run..

and even then I think the GTR would take the win but with a Z06 and a skilled driver...the gtr would see taillights..

ZR1? No comparision. IMO

The GTR has 480bhp and a sophisticated AWD system. I suspect their lap time and performance claims may be genuine. AWD will take a chunk out of 0- low speed if you are prepared to sidestep the clutch. You can also totally stand on it at low speeds out of corners and get the power down. And the 'ring has a lot of corners, not so many of which are really fast sweepers.

AWD is how the turbo Subarus and the Evo get a jump on their competitors. Example, my wife's Legacy GT, fairly heavy and with 250 bhp road tested in the low 5's to 60. But a "normal" start feels almost sluggish, until you get on the turbo at about 2,800 rpm. And a dump the clutch start leaves some very funny smells behind...not anything to repeat many times!

Nissan's big claim is that their car is very forgiving (i.e. easier than a Porsche or Vette) to drive at the limit. But I also suspect that we will find that these cars have rather more bhp than Nissan is claiming.

AWD is going to help on standing starts for sure, but I've seen video of laps around the Ring, and I don't recall that many turns that were really slow. There is an extremely long section to use WOT which should favor the more powerful, lighter Z06.

Track conditions could play a big part: I don't really know what conditions were when these laps were done and I don't know how many laps were taken.

Drivers could be a factor, but Jan Magnuson is probably the fastest of the factory drivers; don't know who was driving the GTR.

If the Vette was on run-flats, which would be a huge handicap, then the switch to Michelins should take a bunch of time off.

I remember beating many higher powered, lighter cars with my C4 Vette, and I attributed that to my car being easier to drive, so maybe Nissans claim is valid.