Three of the fastest track cars money can buy—Corvette ZR1, Porsche 911 GT3 RS, and Mustang GTD—are pitted against each other in Hagerty’s Ultimate Lap Battle at the Sonoma Raceway. A technical track with a mix of fast corners, slow corners, S-curves, and elevation changes—to see who’s truly fastest under identical conditions with the same driver: SCCA Hall of Famer Randy Pobst.
The 2026 Corvette ZR1 arrives with 1,064 hp along with some key upgrades that include massive carbon-ceramic brakes with new 10-piston Alcon calipers, directly addressing the Corvette’s previous braking shortcomings. The Mustang GTD is essentially a road-legal version of Multimatic’s GT3 race car, developed to challenge Porsche’s long-standing dominance. At nearly $400,000, it aims squarely at the 911 GT3 RS featuring a high-revving 4.0L naturally aspirated flat-six engine.
At the Nürburgring Nordschleife, all three are effectively dead even, separated by just 2.744 seconds despite running on different days with different drivers. The Corvette’s twin-turbo V8 overwhelms the field on power, but the GTD and GT3 RS counter with DRS-enabled active aerodynamics that trade drag for downforce as conditions demand.
From the first corner, it was clear: the Corvette’s massive torque gave it a straight-line advantage, while the Porsche sliced through corners with surgical precision. The Mustang kept pace in high-speed turns, thanks to downforce and stability, but its weight caught up in slower sections.
By the final hairpin, the Corvette ZR1 crossed the line first, setting a production-car lap record at Sonoma Raceway. The Porsche finished 2.35 seconds behind, trading cornering parity for less power. The Mustang ended 3.8 seconds back, dominant only in straight-line sections. On a balanced track, the ZR1’s combination of power and handling proved unbeatable.
