Highlighting GM’s vehicle lineup at this year’s 58th Annual Speed Week event on Aug. 12-18 is a Chevrolet Cobalt SS race car engineered in part by three female students, which will attempt to set records using both E85 ethanol and gasoline in the G/FCC (G Class/Unblown Fuel Competition Coupe) and G/GCC (G Class/Unblown Gas Competition Coupe) classes, respectively.

If the Student Project Cobalt SS is successful, it will be the first vehicle to set a record at Bonneville using E85, according to the group that sanctions Speed Week, the Southern California Timing Association (SCTA).

“E85 burns cooler and has a higher octane rating (108) than gasoline, which allows for increased power,” said Oppenheiser. “It’s essentially an environmentally friendly racing fuel, and with GM being a flex fuel vehicle leader, it only makes sense that GM Performance Division would expand that leadership by attempting to set the first E85 record at Bonneville.”

Rounding out the GM vehicle lineup for 2006 are three vehicles built in partnership with So-Cal Speed Shop – the radically redesigned 2006 Chevy So-Cal HHR, the Chevy So-Cal Cobalt SS race car and the Ecotec Lakester, which set a 189.205 mph speed record in the G/BGL class last year and is a modern-day replica of the famous So-Cal belly tank Lakester.

Making its debut in 2005, the Chevy So-Cal Bonneville HHR topped 208 mph on the Salt Flats last year, and attracted huge crowds in the pits and at the start line. Even though it didn’t get a chance to top the 16-year-old 226.835 mph record in G/BFCC class (G Class/Blown Fuel Competition Coupe), the chopped and stretched version of the production HHR achieved its objective of creating a buzz around Chevy's latest crossover vehicle. GM engineer and Bonneville record holder Jim Minneker will again drive the HHR in the G/BFCC class for 2006.

Based on the 2005 Cobalt SS Supercharged, the Chevy So-Cal Cobalt SS is long overdue for a record considering it stunned the crowd in 2004 with an unofficial 243.127-mph pass, earning it the nickname “243 Cobalt.” However, because production had not begun on the Cobalt, it wasn’t eligible to qualify for a record attempt. Last year, it was able to make only two passes before the rains set in.

GM Performance Division engineer Mark Dickens will pilot the Chevy So-Cal Cobalt this year and attempt to raise the bar in the G/BFALT class (G Class/Blown Fuel Altered) even higher than the 212.684-mph mark Minneker established in 2003, with a Saturn Ion Red Line coupe.

The Ecotec Lakester will again try to up the ante and best its own record in the G/BGL class at this year’s event, but this time, it’s 200 mph or bust for driver Mark Dickens.

“We know the car is capable of setting a 200-plus record, and we really won’t be satisfied unless we achieve that goal this year,” said Dickens. “Last year, we made a pass at 203 mph, so now it’s just a matter of actually putting it into the record book.”

The Bonneville Salt Flats has been the home of speed since the first organized trials were conducted there in 1914. It’s a speedway like no other; hand-crafted by Mother Nature and made of crystallized salt that stretches to the horizon. The grassroots racing environment is very demanding with a “run what you brung” mentality that’s distinctly American, and a deep foundation of tradition permeates the senses.

This year, GM Performance Division will provide regular updates on its record progress to the GM FYI Blog (fyi.gmblogs.com), giving visitors an inside look at the Bonneville experience.

Since 2003, when GM Performance Division first journeyed to the historic landscape and set a 212.684-mph speed record with a Saturn Ion Red Line, Ecotec engines have set five world speed records in only eight classes raced, providing GM with a measure of respect from the tight-knit Bonneville racing community. In 2004 alone, Ecotec engines set class records in G/BGL (179.381 mph), G/BFR (210.881 mph), G/BFS (309.607 mph) and G/BGS (290.567 mph).

“We consider the Ecotec engine to be this century’s small-block V-8 of four-cylinder engines,” said Oppenheiser, referencing the iconic Chevrolet V-8 engine introduced more than 50 years ago. “Highly adaptable and interchangeable, the Ecotec is extremely robust and provides racers with a great way to field an inexpensive, highly competitive race car. Plus, it’s very hard to argue against an engine that keeps winning races and setting records as much as the Ecotec.”

And ultimately, Bonneville is about just that, setting records. Given the four vehicles GM Performance Division is bringing to the Salt for 2006, there’s no reason to walk across the state line into Nevada and bet against them, unless you have inside information from Mother Nature