i posted this over on the ECOTEC Forum and figure i'd share with you guys. truly amazing:

BUTTONWILLOW, Calif. – The Chevrolet Cobalt SS Supercharged continued its Time Attack assault at Buttonwillow Raceway Park on Nov. 8, finishing with the fastest time overall (1:51) and first in the Front Engine Front Drive (FF) Unlimited Class at the Toyo Tires Time Attack presented by Super Street and eurotuner magazines. It is the second fastest time ever for a Time Attack run at Buttonwillow and eclipses the previous records set for FF Unlimited (1:57) and all-wheel-drive (AWD) Limited (1:54) classes.

Race-prepared by GM Performance Division for FF Unlimited Time Attack competition and driven by current SCCA driving champion John Heinricy, the Front-Wheel-Drive (FWD) Cobalt SS Supercharged bested more than 50 competitors driving such established AWD racecars as the Nissan Skyline and Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution among others, and was one of only three domestic entries along with the Ford Mustang and Dodge Neon.

“Our team was outstanding and this win is further proof of the credentials GM Performance Division and Chevy are building with the street tuner crowd for the Cobalt SS and its Ecotec engine,” said Heinricy, director of High Performance Vehicle Operations for GM Performance Division. “The competition was tough, but the graciousness in defeat shown by Tarzan Yamada, one of the preeminent drivers in Japanese street racing, was very telling as to how far GM has come in a relatively short period of time.”

Based on Chevy’s new factory-built FWD “tuner” car, the Cobalt SS Supercharged was also chronicled on the SPEED Channel’s Street Tuner Challenge during its 13-week build in preparation for the show’s Time Attack event on July 21. In that contest, the Cobalt bested an 801 hp twin-turbo Nissan Skyline and a nitrous-charged Volkswagen Jetta by seven and 15 seconds respectively with a posted time of 1:58 on Buttonwillow’s #13 track configuration.

The Cobalt SS Supercharged has largely maintained its production roots from a parts standpoint, but was further tuned in preparation for the Nov. 8 event, including an added nitrous boost increasing the horsepower to 380 and torque to 387 lb.-ft. among other aerodynamic improvements and chassis tuning.

The premise behind Time Attack is to take a street vehicle and – using DOT approved tires – turn in the fastest lap on a racetrack for the vehicle class. The vehicle must be from a model originally produced for legal street use and it must have a silhouette largely faithful to the original.

The Cobalt SS Supercharged has strong performance credentials in factory trim. Powered by a supercharged and intercooled 205-horsepower, 2.0-liter Ecotec DOHC four-cylinder engine and equipped with a finely-tuned suspension developed on Germany’s famed Nurburgring race track, the production Cobalt SS Supercharged has brought more heat to the already red-hot sport compact segment, and has been quite a dealer draw since its introduction in late 2004.

GM Performance Division in collaboration with Chevrolet, GM Powertrain, GM Performance Parts and GM Design created the Cobalt SS for Time Attack competition to demonstrate the ultimate capabilities of the Ecotec engine. Time Attack challenges involve multiple runs, so the engine must be powerful and durable.

The engine features an Eaton M-62 Gen 5 Hybrid supercharger, and delivers 283 horsepower at 6840 rpm and 243 lb.-ft. of torque at 4200 rpm without the nitrous. It is also Stage 2+ equipped, using a smaller pulley than the Stage 2 kit available soon through GM Performance Parts to achieve even greater torque.

Some of the production Cobalt elements were replaced with carbon fiber counterparts, including the hood, doors, roof, decklid, rear wing, side rocker extensions and Sparco car seat. The vehicle’s glass has also been replaced with Lexan, and interior trim has been kept to a minimum. The end result is a vehicle weighing a mere 2,350 pounds.

i think beating those cars mentioned is a HUGE "victory"!

 

thats tight

 

Read the date!!!!!!! VERY OLD.

And the SS/SC did not beat a 800hp Skyline

 

damecabezaporfavor3 what do you drive ??? a ****** chevrolegs

 

think the skyline started breaking up at the seams or whatnot. Watched the program on Speed channel.

Edit: still this is really old

 

Uh yes it did, SCC did a story on this a few months ago.The other teams were crying about
the Cobalt being the only car there backed by a corperation "GM" so it was'nt fair to the other
teams.

 

very old yes, but still the fact that the Cobalt SS/SC owned all on a road track is still awesome. when people here Skyline, or other established vehicles with YEARS of R&D (EVO) they don't expect for a FWD 4 cyl to come along and spank that ass. and according to the GM Tuner website where i got this article from, the SS did beat an 800hp Skyline.

 

STI stage 2 soon

 

ummm no it did not. The skyline didn't even make a full pass on the course. You fanbois can't be this lost that you really think an SS/SC would even be able keep up let alone beat a 800hp skyline???

 

All bow to the mighty king of rice. The Nissan skyline! The most over rated car in the world.

Go watch the Fast and Furious for the two hundreth time kid. If the skyline didn't finish and the Cobalt did, that means the Cobalt beat it.

 

doesn't that mean givemeheadplease3

 

Do you even know anything about the Skyline... and how it competes in its race season against only other skylines, because it was banned from racing anything else because nothing else could keep up???

The Skyline didn't race so how did the Cobalt win???

Yes reeper that is what it means.

 

Yes thank you for defending a much more expensive and higher HP car. It looks like you're our troll for the week.

 

Sounds like ricer logic to me. I don't hear an F1 driver who was a heavy favorite to win but DNFs due to mechanical problems say "Well, the winner didn't really WIN, because you know, I didn't complete the full race. So you can't really say they beat me."

 

thats cause its awd... most racing classes banned awd... look what happened to the audi's... not that they're not an awesome car... but they are not the best thing out there. by the way a friend of mine owns a 97 skyline gt-s and it is bad ass.

 

Ricer logic is saying an SS/SC beat an 800hp Skyline.

 

hey over-all the skyline may be a faster car... but its a heavy bitch.... and it didn't finish the run... so the Cobalt won... no disputing that.... if you were at the track in a drag event and your car breaks at the line... other guy wins.... (just and example)

 

I'd be willing to bet I know more about the skyline then you. The skyline is a great car, don't get me wrong, but there are plenty that are better out there. Is the Cobalt one of them? No, but on that day it was. Plus comparing the two outside of that day is apples to oranges.

If you don't beleive the Skyline is overhyped then you probably like it because of a movie. The thing is there was nothing revolutionary about the skyline and there are faster, better looking (personal preference I know), and more tunable cars out there. So why does everyone bow to it? I don't know.

Why do you like it?

 

this is true, b/c of the skyline's DNF, it "lost". now, would the SS won if the skyline could've been able to compete? we'll never know. the twin turbo setup may have not been the best setup for that track, maybe too many short, slow corners and the Skyline may have experinced some lag. but technically, the Cobalt won that day. the skyline broke, Cobalt didn't. a testament to GM quality work, maybe?

 

"It is also Stage 2+ equipped, using a smaller pulley than the Stage 2 kit available soon through GM Performance Parts to achieve even greater torque."


anyone notice this....did this ever happen yet? no...will it? who knows?

 

Soon as in ur getting the car or soon as in ur getting stage 2?

BTW ppl can cry all you want, boost leak, bad driver, what eva, a win is a win. could be a shitty win but still a win. Not the SS 's fault the GTR didnt compete.

 

Huh???? Do a search...

Fact is, the SS/SC did not BEAT the 800hp skyline. That is like saying you challenge lance armstong to a bike rice and he accepts, but the day before you guys are suppose to race he dies or breaks a leg, does that mean you won??People will/would laugh at you if you said you beat lance armstrong in a bike rice like that. Just like anybody that isn't a fanboi laughs at you guys when you say your SS/SC beat a 800hp skyline on a road course. I mean come on....this was not an F1 race, it was not Nascar, it was a GM sponsored event where two garages got picked to build a skyline and a jetta and GM built their OWN car, in a certain time frame.

 

read above, the SS/SC set a new time record for FWD cars and BEAT the AWD best time. this also states that the SS beat an EVO, Skyline, Mustang, and Neon along with numerous other condenders. regardless whether or not the Skyline competed, i DO think the SS could've held it's own and really beat it.

 

So a FWD unlimited car, beat the AWD limited cars??? Your point??? Same rules applied the AWD and RWD cars would demolish any and all FWD cars.

Also you are mixing up 2 different events.

 

Ehh, that Skyline is a unlimited car I don't care waht anyones says. Its' a Homologan special. Made for the track. Like the Sube 22B and Nismo LM R33. Yes the skyline is a world beater. I won't dney that. It's engine is insanely stout. But it's overhyped because everyone thinks stock it's gods gift to man. Which at it's pricepoint and it's level of performance. Even for its' time. Was lacking, just like the NSX.