News 
Corvette ZR1 Breaks "Stock" Speed Record
July 03, 2008
A Corvette ZR1 became the fastest production car ever made during the last week in June. The ZR1 turned a lap of the Nürburgring race course in Germany in 7:26.4, snapping the record of 7:29 set by the Nissan GT-R in mid-April. Development engineer Jim Mero was the driver of the record-settuing ZR1.
According to Corvette chief engineer Tad Juechter, "The vehicle (that set the record) is exactly like the cars that will be built in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and sold around the world later this summer."
Mero said that conditions at Nürburgring were good, but noted a strong headwind down the main straight and thinks he could have gone even faster in the car."
The car had only a bar to anchor the seatbelt harness and no roll cage. It was set to stock ride height and chassis alignment, the onboard emissions system met American EPA standards and there was “street” gas in the fuel tank. The production-like Michelin Pilot Sport 2 tires did have a relatively soft tread-wear rating of 220. The run began with a rolling start and was electronically timed, then confirmed with two hand-held stopwatches.