10 Fastest American Cars Around The Nurburgring
The Nürburgring is a 12.94-mile circuit that is commonly known as a benchmark for all manufacturers. This massive motorsport complex can be broken down into quite a few different configurations, with the most popular variants being the Formula 1 circuit and the North Loop.
Despite being in Germany, American manufacturers often send their most powerful performance sports cars to lap the iconic circuit. This gives them a good idea of how well their car stacks up against the competition.
Interested in some of the fastest American cars to ever lap the Nürburgring? Here are 10 of the fastest American cars to set a time there.
10 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 - 7: 39.28
The Ford Mustang is one of the most iconic brands in the motor industry. The modern versions of the car come with more performance, including a V8 engine that can produce 650 HP and 600 lb-ft of torque. The GT500 version of the car included additional styling along with a custom hood for better cooling.
These impressive performance upgrades helped the Shelby GT500 lap the Nürburgring in just 7 minutes and 39 seconds. Clocking at an average speed of around 100 miles per hour around the entire track, the GT500 managed to beat the Lamborghini Murcielago LP640 and even the SLS AMG.
9 Chevrolet Camaro Z / 28 - 7: 37.47
The Camaro is already a powerful sports car. The Z / 28 version of the car adds to that performance by cutting down on its weight and tuning the engine for even more performance. The Z / 28 Camaro manages to use its V8 engine to produce 500 HP and 470 lb-ft of torque.
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This power came in handy as the American sports car managed to lap the Nürburgring in just 7 minutes and 37 seconds. With an average speed of 101 miles per hour around the track, the Z / 28 Camaro comfortably outperformed the Lexus LFA and even the Ferrari 458 Italia.
8 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray - 7: 29.90
The Chevrolet Corvette Stingray is a legendary American sports car. The C8 model comes with a modern design that includes a 6.2L V8 engine. This powerful powertrain manages to pump out 495 HP and 470 lb-ft of torque. This makes it one of the fastest standard Corvettes on the road today.
Driven by Oliver Gavin in 2020, the Chevrolet Corvette Stingray managed to lap the iconic German circuit in just 7 minutes and 29 seconds. This comfortably outperformed many German competitors such as the SLS AMG GT and the 911 Carrera S.
7 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 (Mk VI) - 7: 29.60
The Camaro ZL1 is the performance version of the sports coupe. This powerful two-door coupe comes with a supercharged V8 engine that can produce 650 HP and 650 lb-ft of torque. The rear-wheel-drive sports car comes with significant upgrades over the standard Camaro, including a custom hood and rear wing.
The Camaro ZL1 also comes in a bit lighter at 3,849 lbs. This helps give the car a better power-to-weight ratio of 367 HP per ton. With this amount of performance under the hood, the ZL1 made it around the circuit in just 7 minutes and 29 seconds.
6 Corvette Z06 Z07 Package - 7: 22.68
The Corvette Z06 Z07 Package is a specially crafted sports car developed by Chevrolet. This powerful coupe comes with the LS7 V8 engine that can effortlessly produce 505 HP and 470 lb-ft of torque. With a curb weight of just 3073 lbs., The Corvette has an impressive power-to-weight ratio of 362 HP per ton.
Driven by Jim Mero, the Corvette Z06 Z07 Package managed to lap the Nürburgring in a blistering 7 minutes and 22 seconds. With an average speed of around 104 miles per hour, the Corvette Z06 Z07 Package improved on the standard Z06 to beat even the AMG GT 63 S around the Nürburgring.
5 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 - 7: 19.63
The Corvette ZR1 is a powerful American sports car from Chevrolet. This impressive two-door sports coupe comes with a supercharged V8 engine that can produce 638 HP and 604 lb-ft of torque. While the coupe was already powerful, the ZR1 package increased both the aero and handling of the car.
The Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 managed to lap the Nürburgring in just 7 minutes and 19 seconds. With an average speed of 105 miles per hour, the ZR1 managed to beat the Stingray, Ford GT, and even the Porsche 911 GT3 RS.
4 Camaro ZL1 1LE Package - 7: 16.04
The Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE Package comes with an upgraded body kit and a supercharged V8 engine. This LT4 engine can effortlessly produce 650 HP and 650 lb-ft of torque. This version of the Camaro included a higher rear wing and a more aggressive front end.
The front end featured upgraded air intakes and air deflectors on either side of the front bumper. This enabled the ZL1 1LE to cruise its way to an impressive lap time of 7 minutes and 16 seconds. The special Camaro managed to achieve an average speed of 106 miles per hour, comfortably beating the Porsche 911 Turbo S.
3 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 - 7: 13.90
With a top speed of 196 miles per hour, the Z06 Corvette is the most aggressive and powerful Corvette to take a trip around the Nürburgring. This American sports car comes with a 6.2L supercharged engine that can produce 650 HP and 650 lb-ft of torque.
This enabled the Z06 to power its way around the circuit with a time of just 7 minutes and 13 seconds. The Z06 managed to achieve an average speed of 106 miles an hour around the German track, outperforming the McLaren 720S and even the Lamborghini Aventador.
2 Dodge Viper SRT-10 ACR - 7: 12.13
The Dodge Viper is already known as an incredibly powerful sports car. The SRT version of the car adds to its performance with an extended rear wing and a tuned engine. The powertrain in the SRT-10 ACR includes a V10 engine that can produce 600 HP and 560 lb-ft of torque.
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This enabled the Viper SRT-10 ACR to lap the Nürburgring in just 7 minutes and 12 seconds. With an average speed of around 107 miles per hour, the SRT Viper slots well above the Corvette ZR1 and even the Porsche 918 Spyder. What makes this noteworthy is the fact that the Viper is over 10x cheaper than the 918.
1 Dodge Viper ACR (Mk V) - 7: 01.30
The Dodge Viper ACR MkV is a special performance version of the Dodge Viper. This impressive sports car comes with a powerful 8.4L V10 engine that can produce around 645 HP and 600 lb-ft of torque. This powertrain allows the Viper to accelerate from 0 to 100 in just 12.9 seconds.
The Viper managed to take the top spot as the fastest American sports car to ever lap the Nürburgring. With a time of 7 minutes and 1 second, the Viper managed to lap the circuit with an average speed of 109 miles per hour. This makes it slightly slower than the Ferrari 488 Pista, but comfortably ahead of the AMG GT R Pro.