Watching a stock production car, and an American one, no less, tag a consistent 1.5-1.6g of lateral acceleration on street tires (new Michelin Pilot Sport Cups) on its way to clicking off a 7:19.63 lap around the Nurburgring's Nordschleife is nothing short of mind-blowing, until you realize it's the ZR1. And then it's still mind-blowing.

That's nearly seven seconds faster than the previous ZR1 time posted by GM, about 5 seconds faster than Nissan's GT-R, three seconds faster than the Dodge Viper SRT10 ACR, and just a tick over 30 seconds behind the track-purposed, $2 million Pagani Zonda R. It's a second behind Porsche's claims for the GT2 RS, and a full 13 seconds and change quicker than the Ferrari 458 Italia.

And unlike any of those cars except the GT-R, it can be had for just a little over $100,000. How's that for American engineering?

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