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Chevy engineers have returned to the Nürburgring in Germany with a full contingent of high performance Corvettes for continued testing. But this is where it gets interesting as for the first time since forever the group is no longer driving camouflaged prototypes but painted production (or production-ready) cars that include the Z06, ZR1, and ZORA.
According to a spy photographer at the ‘Ring, Chevy has even booked some time for timed hot laps later this month.
So far, a photographer at the event says that there are at least six Corvettes being tested:
Two are Z06s wearing Accelerate Yellow and Black, two ZR1 Coupes in Black and Red, and two ZORA cars in Purple and Competition Yellow round out the group. He has so far captured five of the six, with the Red ZR1 not taking to the track on Tuesday.
The Z06s and ZR1s appear to be production (or in the case of the ZR1, production-ready CTFs) and we know that many C8 owners would welcome seeing Chevy really going after some fast lap times for bragging rights.
With the Mustang GTD making two sub-7-second runs over the last few months, it’s time for the Corvette team to reassert themselves in the record-chasing business.
According to a spy photographer, the GM team will be in Germany for a total of three weeks as they use the first weeks for training on the ring before coming back after Le Mans (this weekend) and the 12H Nürburgring race (next weekend) to attempt at least two record runs on the 12.9-mile track.
He tells us that several Michelin engineers are also embedded with the Corvette Team during this visit.
Going back to the cars, what we also found interesting is that Chevy brought at least two ZORA models with them.
They are the Hysteria Purple and Competition Yellow Coupes with the hybrid sticker on the rear engine glass that is required whenever a vehicle on the Nürburgring has a hybrid powertrain.
In case of an accident, the sticker alerts the first responders that the car is electrified.
Also, can also see on these two cars a new darker-colored vertical cooling radiator mounted on the front driver’s side corner.
Both cars are in full ZR1 packaging with extra cooling ducts on the rear and top of the engine hatch, but the Purple car is showing Z06 badges on the side while the Yellow ZORA has the ZR1 badges.
Rumors that the ZORA is actually an option on the ZR1 and not a stand-alone model have been mentioned in recent months, and Chevy could still roll that option out on the 2026 models as we are still waiting for the 2026 configurator to go live, 2026 pricing to be made live, and of course the first allocations and orders for the 2026 ZR1 have yet to commence.
According to a spy photographer at the ‘Ring, Chevy has even booked some time for timed hot laps later this month.
So far, a photographer at the event says that there are at least six Corvettes being tested:
Two are Z06s wearing Accelerate Yellow and Black, two ZR1 Coupes in Black and Red, and two ZORA cars in Purple and Competition Yellow round out the group. He has so far captured five of the six, with the Red ZR1 not taking to the track on Tuesday.
The Z06s and ZR1s appear to be production (or in the case of the ZR1, production-ready CTFs) and we know that many C8 owners would welcome seeing Chevy really going after some fast lap times for bragging rights.
With the Mustang GTD making two sub-7-second runs over the last few months, it’s time for the Corvette team to reassert themselves in the record-chasing business.
According to a spy photographer, the GM team will be in Germany for a total of three weeks as they use the first weeks for training on the ring before coming back after Le Mans (this weekend) and the 12H Nürburgring race (next weekend) to attempt at least two record runs on the 12.9-mile track.
He tells us that several Michelin engineers are also embedded with the Corvette Team during this visit.
Going back to the cars, what we also found interesting is that Chevy brought at least two ZORA models with them.
They are the Hysteria Purple and Competition Yellow Coupes with the hybrid sticker on the rear engine glass that is required whenever a vehicle on the Nürburgring has a hybrid powertrain.
In case of an accident, the sticker alerts the first responders that the car is electrified.
Also, can also see on these two cars a new darker-colored vertical cooling radiator mounted on the front driver’s side corner.
Both cars are in full ZR1 packaging with extra cooling ducts on the rear and top of the engine hatch, but the Purple car is showing Z06 badges on the side while the Yellow ZORA has the ZR1 badges.
Rumors that the ZORA is actually an option on the ZR1 and not a stand-alone model have been mentioned in recent months, and Chevy could still roll that option out on the 2026 models as we are still waiting for the 2026 configurator to go live, 2026 pricing to be made live, and of course the first allocations and orders for the 2026 ZR1 have yet to commence.