Retired Chevrolet test driver reveals that the 2019 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 lapped the Nurburgring in a 7:04, a time GM doesn’t want you to know about.

Chevrolet had specific goals for the 2019 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 since it’s speculated to be the last and fastest front engine RWD layout Corvette before they unveil the mid-engined C8. But it looks like ex ‘Vette test driver and engineer Jim Mero leaked an official time earlier yesterday (Apr. 8, 2019) confirming in so many words that the 2019 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 lapped the Nurburgring in an unofficial time of 7:04, a few seconds off of its goal time of 6:59, but the story doesn’t end there.

Here’s the photo he posted online below.

Not willing to go into details why Chevrolet didn’t hot lap the ‘Vette in a time they wanted because those details would be revealed in a little more than two weeks from now at the 2019 National Corvette Museum Bash, Mero did drop a couple of teasers.

One was that GM forced him to set a hot lap on cold tires,

“Long story, it’s part of my seminar at the NCM Bash, so I don’t want to do a spoiler alert, after the bash, I will elaborate the entire story.”

As hinted at previously in a few other of his photos, particularly one he posted last year showing segment times of 6:57, he did inform his Facebook fans that the ZR1 could theoretically hit that sub-7 time all-day long.

“Long story but the bottom line on the photo says it all. That very day I was segmenting 6:57, and I always hit the segment.”

Who knows why GM didn’t afford Mero the time and resources to hit that magic lap time, Mero certainly sounds confident that, given the right conditions, Chevrolet could’ve gone under seven if they wanted too.

Setting a sub-7 lap time on the Ring isn’t exactly easy, then again, if there’s an outfit out there that CAN set such a time, an OEM as big as GM certainly has a large enough piggy bank to bankroll a supercar beating effort.

As Mero mentions, we’ll get the full story on Apr. 27-29, the weekend of the NCM Bash.

Source: Jim Mero