Yahoo Autos 2019 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 at Lightning Lap 2018
Lap Time: 2:39.5
Class: LL4 | Base Price: $129,505 | As-Tested Price: $141,485
Power and Weight: 755 hp • 3669 lb • 4.9 lb/hp
Tires: Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 ZP, F: P285/30ZR-19 (94Y) R: P335/25ZR-20 (99Y)
His palms are sweaty, knees weak, steering heavy. There’s a time in his head; Mero’s ready.
That’d be Jim Mero, the Corvette’s ride and handling engineer, who is here to watch us lap his ZR1. During Lightning Lap, Mero’s role is part Smokey Yunick, part Tony Robbins. He ensures that the Corvette is working perfectly and goads us into achieving its potential. At the temps we’re running in, he thinks a 2:39 is where we should land. The quickest we could achieve yesterday was a 2:41.6. Now get in there. Shut off all electronic aids and don’t leave your sweater full of mom’s spaghetti.
You have one shot, one opportunity to turn a fast lap in the ZR1 before the Corvette-spec Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 ZP tires go from near-race-tire grip to sticky-but-not-insane track tire. The morning air is warming toward the 90s. Grip and power will never be as good as they are now. Stay calm and ready.
The first corner requires you to bring the ZR1 down from 164 mph to 50, so squeeze the carbon-ceramic rotors hard. Muscle it to the apex, hold it at 1.21 g’s, and while bracing against the seat, floor it like it has all-wheel drive.
The rest of the track’s 24 corners are variations on the first: Scare yourself silly with the speeds called up by 755 horsepower, brake so late that you’re sure you’ll go off-track, turn the leaden wheel, exploit the preposterous grip, and get to WOT as fast as you can without spinning the car. Like every Corvette, the ZR1 is seemingly built to treat low T. Provided you’re forceful and deliberate, the ZR1 will accelerate, brake, and turn with a brutality that transcends its hefty 3669-pound mass.
Don’t be afraid to drop two in the grass in the Climbing Esses, Mero suggests with a grin. While I don’t choose that adventure, the Vette’s chassis does sop up the curbing at over 130 mph. This is fine, says the chassis. This isn’t fine, says my heart as it ticks past 150 beats per minute.
Back at the start/finish, the lap timer stops at 2:39.5, beating our previous VIR record holder, the Ford GT, by 3.5 seconds. It’s not even this year’s top time, but an adrenaline rush like this usually costs at least twice as much. For proof, read on.
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