Okay, of course we're not referring to the 2008 Corvette. That would be a ridiculous statement, an utter lie. And we wouldn't do that to you. No, no, we're talking about the 1989 Vette that, back in a May 1989 road test, impressed power junkies with its 245-horse, 5.7-liter V-8 that could consume 60 in 6.5 seconds and the quarter mile in 15.0 at 94.6 mph. My, how times change-this cute Cobalt SS you see here, with a puny 2.0-liter four-cylinder spinning the front wheels and with help from a new "no-lift shift" launch control can scorch 60 in just 5.5 seconds and the quarter in 13.9 at 102.5 mph. Legit? You should see it at the track.

When we say track, we really mean the "'Ring," as in Germany's Nurburgring. It was there the SS, with a time of 8:22.85 minutes, set a new record for front-drive sport-compacts, a class previously dominated by the Opel Astra OPC, which was over 13 seconds slower. For context, a Z06 obliterates the 'Ring in 7:43, but that's with nearly twice the power, rear drive, and tires as wide as a La-Z-Boy.

The Cobalt's mojo comes courtesy of the aforementioned 2.0-liter-a 260-horsepower direct-injection turbo-and a heavily revised chassis, highlighted by stiffer springs and dampers, a larger rear anti-roll bar, 10-percent-quicker steering, Brembo four-piston front brakes, and 18-inch forged alloys wearing 225/40 Continentals. The package works, displaying predictable, confidence-inspiring traits at the track and, more important, grin-inducing grip (0.91 g). Making that grin even wider are a top speed of 160 mph and estimated combined fuel economy of 25 mpg.

Shortcomings? The F35 five-speed isn't as fluid or precise as others in the segment, namely the Civic Si's. The electric power steering is linear but lacks the tactility of, say, a Mazdaspeed 3's. The interior, with its hard plastic accoutrements, still screams econocar, despite new seats with UltraLux suedelike inserts. And there's some torque steer, even with GM's best trickery with electronics and suspension geometry.

Nevertheless, at only $22,995, the SS could stand for Super Steal. Even loaded with the $495 limited-slip differential (a must for the track), $750 sunroof, and $195 big wing, the SS still goes for under $25,000. Better yet, an SS sedan is coming for 2009. Either way, you'll be grinning big as you pity those old Corvettes in the rearview.

Does this car look familiar? It should. Beyond the front grille treatment, the new 2008 Chevrolet Cobalt SS is visually identical to the 2005–07 Cobalt SS Supercharged. The front and rear fascias, side sills, and now-optional huge wing carry over unchanged, as does the regular Cobalt-based sheetmetal. The similarity, however, ends there.

The old SS was quite good. A mini-muscle car, it was quick in a straight line, although it became a ball of understeer when the road went bendy. But the new SS is better. Not only does it remain face-peelingly quick, but it’s also now a maniacal piece of machinery that laughs at nearly any corner you toss in front of it.

Turbos Are Super, Too
The SS Supercharged had to be discontinued because its blown four didn’t comply with emissions regulations for 2008. (The naturally aspirated imposter SS was discontinued after 2007, too; Chevy now calls that model the Cobalt Sport.) As a result, the new SS gets force-fed via an air-to-air intercooled turbocharger rather than the Eaton supercharger of the old car.

This 2.0-liter Ecotec turbo four, introduced in the Pontiac Solstice GXP and Saturn Sky Red Line roadsters, gains direct injection and variable valve timing for intake and exhaust and returns a claimed 22 mpg city and 30 mpg highway. More important, though, is that the new car puts 260 horsepower under your right foot versus 205 in the SS Supercharged. Peak torque is an impressive 260 pound-feet, and it’s available from 2000 rpm.

Chevy figures a blast to 60 ought to take 5.7 seconds, but the SS Supercharged took a mere 5.9 in our test, so we’re thinking maybe an additional 10th or two could be squeezed from the more powerful turbo model. Top speed is as high as 160 mph, so long as you forgo that ginormous, drag-heavy optional spoiler.

I’m Not Going to Break It, Am I?
Rocketing to the top end is a ridiculous amount of fun in the new SS, thanks to the standard launch control and no-lift shift functions, which are also found on the less hard-core, pudgier HHR SS. Both are fairly violent events, and not lifting off the gas when you shift feels, well, ludicrous. No-lift shifts, though, coax such sweet burbles and gunfire pops from the exhaust that you just have to do them all the time. From a stop sign? No-lift shift. Getting onto the freeway? No-lift shift. In the produce section at the grocery store? Yup, no-lift shift.

A tip from the engineers: One pop from the tailpipe is good. More pops are bad, since that means you’ve bounced it off the rev limiter and aren’t accelerating as quickly as you could. Using launch control or no-lift shifting gives you the inkling that you’re going to break the car or engine or Saab-sourced five-speed manual—or all three—in half, but Chevy warrants the powertrain for five years or 100,000 miles and says that engineers performed 600 launch-control blastoffs in a row to validate the whole shebang.

Damping and Turn-In and Braking, Oh My
Beyond the engine, though, are the chassis refinements made by the GM Performance boys. The only underbody item shared with the regular Cobalt is the front subframe. New lower control arms, control-arm bushings, 30-percent-stiffer springs, and fat 24mm front and rear solid anti-roll bars tighten the suspension like a drum skin. The steering system’s rack, electronics, and tuning are all unique to the SS, as is the car’s pedal box, which has been optimized to provide better heel-and-toe downshifts.

After dozens of miles on twisty California desert roads and several laps at Buttonwillow Raceway Park, it was clear that the extensive alterations (not to mention four intense weeks of tuning at the Nürburgring, during which the car beat the lap record for its class by 13 seconds) have paid off. The Cobalt SS treats midcorner bumps with indifference and features ride characteristics that remind us of—gulp—the Volkswagen GTI. Lumpy, bumpy roads unfurl beneath the new SS with no drama; this car is very well damped.

The steering is good, too. In fact, it’s perhaps the best we’ve felt in a GM front-driver, with road sensations and the grip situation communicated mostly intact via the fat, three-spoke wheel identical to the one found in the Corvette. The steering is well weighted and dead accurate, too, although it lacks the delicate tactility of the GTI’s rack.

Sitting behind those front wheels are 12.4-inch vented rotors squeezed by standard-issue four-piston Brembo calipers. Out back, the supercharged car’s solid discs have morphed into vented units on the new SS, but they’re squeezed by single-piston GM units. The system offers above-average feel, registering even the smallest change in pedal pressure, and we experienced absolutely zero fade even after seven or eight consecutive hard laps of the long and very fast Buttonwillow track.

On the racecourse, the SS demonstrated surprisingly neutral attitude for a front-driver and slow, progressive rotation on throttle lift, after which it would settle down into a four-wheel drift. That’s a far cry from its predecessor’s plow-happy handling, although ham-fisted efforts can still set the front wheels sliding. Torque steer was mostly a nonissue, with the suspension tuning, the power-steering programming, and a computer program that uses steering-wheel angle to dial back available torque combining to keep the wheel from yanking itself from our hands.

Nice Price for a Nice Piece of Machinery
Pricing is competitive at $22,995, and Chevy’s not interested in bloating the bottom line with huge options packages or frivolous toys. Indeed, the short options list—for now, a limited-slip differential for $495, a sunroof for $750, and the huge wing for $195—shows how focused Chevrolet and GM Performance intend this car to be. Further driving this point home is the lack of an available automatic transmission; shift your own or go home, bub.

When the 2009 model year commences in late June, a Cobalt SS sedan will be added, and we expect the price to be the same. A few other pieces of equipment might be added as well: an in-dash navigation system could be as low as $275, Bluetooth connectivity will be available, and there’s talk of offering a programmable data logger that would replace the A-pillar-mounted boost gauge.

The biggest problem we see with the Cobalt SS is its workaday roots. Convincing people to lay down 23 large for a car based on the ho-hum, uninspiring Cobalt they rented in Albuquerque is a tougher proposition than asking someone to step up from, say, the very good VW Rabbit to the even better GTI—especially when the new SS looks so much like the old one and has such bummer interior plastics. In the words of lead development engineer Brandon Vivian, though, GM “spent the money on making it faster,” not on fancy new bodywork or soft-touch froufrou.

We’re glad it did, because the new Cobalt SS is very fast and very good.

We’re massively impressed with the new front-wheel-drive champion of the LL1 class, the Chevrolet Cobalt SS. Not only did it lop three seconds off the Mazdaspeed 3’s 2007 front-drive record of 3:16.0, it was only a half-second behind the overall LL1 record of 3:12.5 set by the Nissan 350Z Track in 2006.

Two years ago, a supercharged Cobalt SS with 205 horsepower recorded a respectable 3:20.6. We invited the ’08 Cobalt SS because it has a new 260-hp, 2.0-liter direct-injection four-cylinder turbo engine and a host of chassis upgrades including wider tires and larger brakes.

The changes made a huge difference at the track as the Cobalt’s new brakes resisted fading, its wider tires maintained their hold lap after lap, and its compliant and balanced chassis made it easy to exploit the phenomenal grip.

Gobs of power from the new engine and an optional limited-slip diff allowed the Cobalt to take most of the track in third gear. The SS hurtled forward with an anger missing in the rest of LL1 and much of the LL2 group. Despite the explosive power and front weight bias, the Cobalt SS resisted the typical understeer found in front-drive cars. The SS goes about its business with almost no drama. You only realize how quick it is when you arrive at start-finish and wonder, “How’d I get here so fast?”