Chevy Cobalt SS

[HarleyEarl]

FOR RELEASE: 2005-11-11 Chevy Cobalt SS Supercharged Smokes Competition at Toyo Tires Time Attack FWD Cobalt finishes with fastest time overall besting AWD, FWD and RWD competitors 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. Powell Motorsport, Lotus Engineering and Martin Technologies provided GM Performance Division with vehicle preparation, logistical support and engineering collaboration for the Toyo Tires Time Attack event.

[FUTURE_OF_GM]

What's that I hear?!?!?!?!? Oh yeah, NO media coverage.

[AAS]

What's that I hear?!?!?!?!?

Oh yeah, NO media coverage.

[post="43439"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

Maybe not too much media coverage, but I'm sure the Cobalt get's a lot of attention when it's spanking BMW's and RSX's on the track, and who can complain about that. (I forget which series it races in)

[z28luvr01]

Grand Am, I think. I was watching on Sunday on Speed, and the Cobalts were doing rather well against Mustangs, Porsches, BMWs, and RX-8s

[Cory Wolfe]

A FWD car beating everything there including RWD and AWD cars?!?!?!? How can that be?!?!?!

:lol: :D I thought it was impossible! :P

[AAS]

Correct me if i'm wrong, but do all the Cobalt models have a solid rear axle? I'm pretty sure the sedan does, but does the coupe? the SS?

[CaddyXLR-V]

A FWD car beating everything there including RWD and AWD cars?!?!?!? How can that be?!?!?!

:lol: :D I thought it was impossible! :P

[post="43520"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

It still has the second fastest time ever. First is still a RWD car, though the article doesn't mention what car.

[z28luvr01]

AAS, all Cobalts have a semi-independent torsion bar setup in the rear.

[Cory Wolfe]

It still has the second fastest time ever. First is still a RWD car, though the article doesn't mention what car.

I said there... nothing about that. So... OMG!!! My beliefs have been shattered!!!! :rotflmao:

[Guest YellowJacket894]

Whoa. The Cobalt keeps looking better and better.

And what does the media do? Bitch about it. They place it dead last in comparo tests (Motor Trend, July 2005) and bitch about the styling (Car & Driver, Date N/A at Moment). You'll never hear coverage of this in Car & Driver when they know that this thing has spanked a few of their 10 Best. Edited November 16, 2005 by anorexorcist

[AAS]

AAS, all Cobalts have a semi-independent torsion bar setup in the rear.

[post="43567"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

Thanks! :)

[sciguy_0504]

Didn't the Cobalt win the CR comparo? I hope you guys don't think/believe the Cobalt should win every test, comparison, etc. Out of all the complaining about CR I think I read a small handful comments at the most that were happy about it. Everyone else said "CR sucks" or something along those lines. Take what you get since it's obvious to all of us that GM doesn't get much in the media.