Possible SoCal G2G - July 6th
Senior Member
Joined: 09-18-2006
Posts: 215
From: Anaheim
Senior Member
Joined: 08-19-2007
Posts: 829
From: So.Cal.
POMONA, Calif. — General Motors has teamed with So-Cal Speed Shop to develop a streamlined, high-performance version of the 2006 Chevrolet HHR.
The car will be one weapon in the GM Performance Division's four-vehicle attack on the Bonneville Salt Flats.
GM also is fielding a custom-built Ecotec Lakester and two different variations of the Chevrolet Cobalt at the 57th Annual Bonneville Speed Week, which runs from August 13-19.
The HHR was chopped 7 inches, modified and painted at So-Cal Speed Shop. So-Cal president Pete Chapouris said the HHR's tailgate was modified to house twin parachutes. The roof contains a NASCAR-style rear flap and side rails to prevent the car from becoming airborne and to help slow it down should it spin. A funny car-style exit flap is built into the roof as an added safety feature.
The HHR is powered by a turbocharged and intercooled 2.0-liter version of GM's four-cylinder Ecotec engine, mounted midships and driving the rear wheels through an air-shifted Jerico five-speed and a Winter quick-change rear end. The Ecotec engine has been modified to produce 800 horsepower.
The HHR will compete in the G/Blown Fuel Competition Coupe class; GM's Cobalt SS Bonneville speedster is entered in G/Blown Fuel Altered, where it already has achieved an unofficial top speed of 243.127 miles per hour.
What this means to you: GM is trying to impress speed freaks. And it looks like it'll do OK with 800 horses pulling.
Here is where it all went bad
General Motors reported mixed results on the salt flats Tuesday, with the day marred by a 250-mph crash of the Chevy So-Cal HHR (top, right).
So-Cal HHR driver and GM engineer Jim Minneker walked away from the HHR wreck, which happened after the car lost traction at nearly 250 mph when the parachute deployed. Minneker was on track to beat the G Class/Blown Fuel Competition Coupe record after hitting the long course speed traps at 246.686 mph (nearly 20 mph faster than the old record) before the crash.On a brighter note, the So-Cal Speed Shop-built Chevy Cobalt SS (bottom, right) looks set to blow the doors off the G Class/Blown Fuel Altered Coupe record with a blistering 246.680 qualifying run. Driver Mark Dickens hopes to back up that run and break the Cobalt's previous record of 218.392 mph set two days ago. Meanwhile, the record-setting "Student Cobalt", also driven by Wickens, upped its G Class/Unblown Fuel Competition Coupe record to 163.608 mph, this time running its E85-fueled Ecotec with nitrous oxide injection, good for a 7 mph lift.
The car will be one weapon in the GM Performance Division's four-vehicle attack on the Bonneville Salt Flats.
GM also is fielding a custom-built Ecotec Lakester and two different variations of the Chevrolet Cobalt at the 57th Annual Bonneville Speed Week, which runs from August 13-19.
The HHR was chopped 7 inches, modified and painted at So-Cal Speed Shop. So-Cal president Pete Chapouris said the HHR's tailgate was modified to house twin parachutes. The roof contains a NASCAR-style rear flap and side rails to prevent the car from becoming airborne and to help slow it down should it spin. A funny car-style exit flap is built into the roof as an added safety feature.
The HHR is powered by a turbocharged and intercooled 2.0-liter version of GM's four-cylinder Ecotec engine, mounted midships and driving the rear wheels through an air-shifted Jerico five-speed and a Winter quick-change rear end. The Ecotec engine has been modified to produce 800 horsepower.
The HHR will compete in the G/Blown Fuel Competition Coupe class; GM's Cobalt SS Bonneville speedster is entered in G/Blown Fuel Altered, where it already has achieved an unofficial top speed of 243.127 miles per hour.
What this means to you: GM is trying to impress speed freaks. And it looks like it'll do OK with 800 horses pulling.
Here is where it all went bad
General Motors reported mixed results on the salt flats Tuesday, with the day marred by a 250-mph crash of the Chevy So-Cal HHR (top, right).
So-Cal HHR driver and GM engineer Jim Minneker walked away from the HHR wreck, which happened after the car lost traction at nearly 250 mph when the parachute deployed. Minneker was on track to beat the G Class/Blown Fuel Competition Coupe record after hitting the long course speed traps at 246.686 mph (nearly 20 mph faster than the old record) before the crash.On a brighter note, the So-Cal Speed Shop-built Chevy Cobalt SS (bottom, right) looks set to blow the doors off the G Class/Blown Fuel Altered Coupe record with a blistering 246.680 qualifying run. Driver Mark Dickens hopes to back up that run and break the Cobalt's previous record of 218.392 mph set two days ago. Meanwhile, the record-setting "Student Cobalt", also driven by Wickens, upped its G Class/Unblown Fuel Competition Coupe record to 163.608 mph, this time running its E85-fueled Ecotec with nitrous oxide injection, good for a 7 mph lift.
