Monster 7m 29s time for 650bhp ZL1 beats lots of insanely fast things

We reckon everyone’s loved a good Nürburgring onboard since the late Eighties, when world’s bravest man Stefan Roser’s attempt in the hilariously wayward RUF CTR “Yellowbird” was forever immortalised in ‘Faszination on the Nürburgring’. If you haven’t seen it, you must watch it immediately.

This is the latest. It’s from Chevrolet, and it shows the new Camaro ZL1 lapping the Green Hell in 7m 29.60s. That’s faster than many fast things, including both the Koenigsegg CCX and CCR. Woah.

The car was unmodified from standard ZL1 spec’, with the exception of a roll-hoop, data-logging equipment and a set of Sparco racing seats with six-point harnesses. Roser, as you’ll have seen, chose a T-shirt and loafers.

The ZL1 is a Camaro with a supercharged 650bhp V8, 881Nm of torque, special magnetic suspension, vast brakes, proper aero and sticky tyres. You’ll also notice the (quite handy) driver at no point manually selects a gear. The ZL1 has a 10-speed auto, here set to “Track” mode for “optimal gear selection without the need to manually select gears”. Right.

7m 29.60s is chuffing quick, and some 11.67 seconds quicker than the old ZL1 – a fact of which Chevy seems rightly very proud. Just nobody tell them it’s just three seconds quicker than a less powerful Alfa Romeo Giulia QV…