2008 Chevrolet Cobalt SS

Okay, of course we're not referring to the 2008 Corvette. That would be a ridiculous statement, an utter lie. And we wouldn't do that to you. No, no, we're talking about the 1989 Vette, which, back in a May '89 road test, impressed power junkies with its 245-horsepower 5.7-liter V-8 that could consume 60 in 6.5 seconds and the quarter-mile in 15.0 at 94.6 mph. My how times change-this cute Cobalt SS you see here, with a puny 2.0-liter four-cylinder spinning the front wheels and with help from new "no-lift shift" launch control, can, according to Chevy, scorch 60 in just 5.7 seconds and the quarter in 14.2 at 103.0 mph. Legit? You should see it at the track.

When we say track, we really mean the "Ring," as in Germany's Nurburgring. It was there that the SS, with a time of 8:22.85 minutes, set a new record for front-drive sport-compacts, a class that was previously dominated by the Opel Astra OPC, which was over 13 seconds slower. For a little context, a Z06 obliterates the Ring in 7:43, but that's with nearly twice the power, rear drive, and tires as wide as a La-Z-Boy.