BUTTONWILLOW, Calif. -- A Chevrolet Cobalt built in Lordstown, Ohio, and modified for street-car racing finished first at the Buttonwillow Raceway Park here with the fastest time overall and turned in the second fastest time ever recorded in its category."This win is further proof of the credentials the GM PerformanceDivision and Chevrolet are building with the street-turner crowd forthe Cobalt SS and its Ecotect engine," said John Heinricy, a drivingchampion and director of high performance vehicle operations for GM.The Chevrolet Cobalt SS Supercharged recorded the fastest time overall (1:51) and ranked first in the Front Engine Front Drive Unlimited Class at the Toyo Tires Time Attack competition presented by Super Street and eurotuner magazines. The Cobalt's time, recorded Nov. 8, is the second fastest time ever for a Time Attack run at Buttonwillow and eclipses the previous records set for its class (1:57) as well as all-wheel-drive (1:54) classes.The premise behind Toyo Tires Time Attack is to take a street vehicle and -- using tires approved by the Department of Transportation -- 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 car.Race-prepared by GM Performance Division for the competition and driven by Heinricy, the Front-Wheel-Drive Cobalt SS Supercharged bested more than 50 competitors driving such established all-wheel-drive racecars as the Nissan Skyline and Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, and was one of only three domestic entries along with the Ford Mustang and Dodge Neon."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," Heinricy said.The Cobalt SS Supercharged largely maintained its production roots from a parts standpoint, Heinricy said, but was further tuned in preparation for the Nov. 8 event. Among the modifications were a nitrous boost that increased the horsepower and torque, aerodynamic improvements and chassis tuning.The production car is powered by a supercharged and inter-cooled 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 Cobalt SS was prepared for the Time Attack competition to demonstrate the ultimate capabilities of the Ecotec engine, Heinricy said. 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, Heinricy said. The vehicle's glass was also replaced with Lexan, and interior trim was 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."