I understand your enthusiasm with the ZL1 since it claimed a 7:41 unofficial ring time. I was there in June during a 10 day industry booking when "Red" was lapping the ring faster than the ZL1's September time. SVT has actually been working on the car since the Z28 hype in October of last year. 7:41 is fast however, it was a rolling start (same as Red but not like the CTS-V) and will never be an official run (same as Red). The suspension that underpins the 2013 GT500 is almost identical to that in which the Boss 302S uses and runs in SCCA and Grand Am and very similar to the Shelby GT350. The car will most likely use Corsa's but is unknown if Ford really wants to go with a 305.. If a 305 is used, I expect the GT500 (or SVT Cobra) to be back over here Sometime in March/April to lay down a REAL Ring time.
Here is what we seen in June, Ford tested this GT500 while Team Corvette ran the record ring run...
http://www.teamshelby.com/forums/ind...e/page__st__20 The video was posted a few days later... We did do some separate timing on a very special part of the track and found that "Red" was almost as fast as the ZR1 through that particular section (about 0.7 second behind the ZR1 and 1.4 seconds faster than the ZL1).
I am impressed that Chevrolet beat the C63 Black that was 4123lbs and produced 670hp and 740tq... however, that run was actually an official run from a stop (like the ZR1). If Ford is going into this race with a 7:35 and a 167mph top speed (the only lap I seen and the top speed was not confirmed by us) then it is possible that this snake is prepped and ready to go.... It does weigh 3850lbs, 600-620hp and has a large supercharger on top.... The ZL1 comes in at 7:41 with 170mph top speed for reference. Remember, the 2012 CTS-V had a top speed of 144mph on the straight at VIR, the 2012 GT500 only did 137 (142 on the record run), the GT500 still beat the CTS-V in every section of the track and ultimately won by a second on the same day.
What I want to see happen, is now that Chevrolet went public with an unofficial time.. I want to see SVT hushed about the Ring and when they are compared stateside.. everyone will wonder what happened from Germany to the US? The actual battle will be at either VIR, Laguna or Willow (or all three)... VIR and Laguna hates heavy cars, Willow is a very fast track...
I doubt we will see the video of this "7:41" run but we won't see the GT500s June run either...
Edit: This is an American car defense statement here: You have to watch Porsche when you beat them, they will buy the car, ship it here, run it slower (from a dig) and call you a liar. You will ultimately have to back up the unofficial time with a production car time or they will be all over us (see GTR). Also, there is no standard for official lap times. manufacturers shave tires, run race gas, aggressive tunes, weight reduction and god knows what else. There is no official Nurburgring inspection team so the watch is really the only judge, upon futher inspection though, you will find out that you can't "Ring" as fast as the manufactures do. The SS posted an 8:20, the fastest local SS posted an 8:40 and had wheels, tires, suspension, exhaust and a few other things (weight reduction) and sold the car in August 2010 because the it was impossible to reproduce the claimed lap times (I posted this car here last year). I would like to know the details on this run but I know that I am asking for too much, the locals are also calling BS and waiting for a video upload to at least add it to the list.