GM cars set records, crash at Bonneville Speed Week
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.[Source: GM Performance Division, So-Cal Speed Shop]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Leo 5:07PM (8/15/2006)
I'm tellin' you... those HHRs don't handle worth a damn.
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Fabulo 5:29PM (8/15/2006)
And what percentage of parts are shared between the salt lake HHR and a garden variety one?
The cavalier, on the other hand, looks genuine. Wait, it's a Cobalt. Sorry.
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BOB 5:41PM (8/15/2006)
I WONDER IF THAT CRASH SCRATCHED THE PAINT -- SOME ARTICLE, without a shot of the wreckage!!!!!!
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fasttie 11:18PM (8/15/2006)
Finally a hhr I would want to own (despite the crash). They should take a few notes for the real thing
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Mike 1:59PM (8/16/2006)
That'll buff right out.
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Amy 8:30AM (8/17/2006)
I'm just glad my uncle walked away who cares about the shots of the wreckage
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Josh 9:28AM (8/20/2006)
They really should make an HHR that looks like that it would make it look more interesting
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Gordon 12:40PM (8/22/2006)
I missed the Nationals this year, but this is the second year that SoCal has had the HHR there and I saw it last year. It runs the same basic engine (4 cyl Ecotec), but it's mounted conventionally with rear wheel drive and turbocharged. The Ecotec engine is built such that it can handle lots of boost. It's tuned to over 800 HP. GM also has a streamliner running the Ecotec that outputs around 1000 HP.
It's really too bad that they crashed it. It was the best looking HHR ever built.
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