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The Chevrolet Corvette Z06 and the Mercedes-AMG GT R have both been sighted attacking the Nürburgring Nordschleife in recent days, with both super sports cars ripping around the track like the only thing standing between their drivers and the bathroom was several miles of Green Hell.
It isn’t exactly a shock to see the fiercest AMG sports car hauling ass around the ‘Ring. It’s been chronicled there already this spring, clad in body-hugging camouflage as it runs around the famed track in advance of the car’s expected debut later this summer. Hey, if we had access to both a 600 horsepower Mercedes-Benz sports car and the world-famous, 12.9 mile race track, we’d probably be driving there every chance we could, too.
The Corvette Z06’s presence on the ‘Ring, on the other hand, is a bit more mysterious. The car has been on sale for more than a year, and as there aren’t any rumors coming down the grapevine about any sportier special editions that might warrant Nürburgring test time—at least, not that we’ve heard. It seems unlikely to be a private owner’s car or a competitor’s yardstick, either: after years of driving vehicles sourced from automakers’ press fleets, we’d know those Michigan-sourced manufacturer plates anywhere. No, this dark cherry red ‘Vette is almost certainly one of General Motors’s own steeds.
But here’s a thought to chew on: For all the accolades it’s earned, the C7-generation Corvette Z06 has never laid down an official ‘Ring lap time. Now that the Nürburgring speed limits have officially been lifted, maybe the General is working on giving its 650 horsepower monster an official chance to carve its name into Nordschleife history. The C6-gen Corvette Z06, after all, laid down a lap time of 7 minutes and 23 seconds back in 2011. We’d say it’s prime time for Chevy to go back and kick its own ass.
