VIDEO: Corvette ZR1X Takes Nurburgring Lap Record From Ford

The battle of the American super sports cars has begun. Less than a year after the Ford Mustang GTD set the fastest lap for an American production car at the Nürburgring Nordschleife, Chevrolet just broke Ford’s record twice. That’s gotta hurt.

How did Chevrolet manage to beat Ford’s record more than once? By bringing more than one car; three to be exact. The Corvette Z06, Corvette ZR1, and Corvette ZR1X were all shipped over by Chevrolet’s performance team to take on “The Green Hell” and do a burnout all over Ford’s party.

For reference the Ford Mustang GTD conquered the Nordschleife with a lap time of 6:52.072 in May 2025. That’s 13 seconds faster than the 2025 Z06’s lap time. Impressive indeed but it wasn’t enough for the new crop of ‘Vettes. While the 2026 Z06 still wasn’t fast enough to best the Mustang GTD, the ZR1 and ZR1X were more than up to the task.

The 2026 ZR1 managed a 6:50.763 lap time which is roughly 1.3 seconds faster than the GTD. Then, Chevrolet sent out the 1,250-horsepower electrified Corvette ZR1X which ran through the Nordschleife with a 6:49.275 lap time; a whopping 2.79 seconds faster than the Mustang GTD.

As fast as the ZR1X is, it looks like there might be even more time to shave off if Chevrolet decides to go for a second attempt.

To its credit Ford CEO Jim Farley congratulated Chevrolet in an Instagram comment for the accomplishment. Though he also threw down the gauntlet by proclaiming “game on!” Does the Mustang GTD have more juice to squeeze? Or will Ford Performance whip up a new GTD variant solely to rip the record back from Chevrolet?

Whatever Ford’s strategy is, it will be fun to watch the back-and-forth track battle between the two American icons.