Autoblog

With the cancellation of the Chevy Cobalt SS Supercharged (above) for 2008 and the impending arrival of the turbocharged HHR SS, speculation was rampant that GM planned to take that 2.0L turbocharged, direct-injected Ecotec and drop it in the Cobalt's engine bay. As has been shown in the past, automakers can try to keep things under wraps, but their fans find ways of digging up info, especially when that info is squirreled away on the web, and GM Inside News has organized everything neatly for us.

First up at cobaltss.net is a copy of the SAE Power Certification for a 2008.5 Chevy Cobalt powered by GM's L850 LNF engine. This is the same motor used in the Saturn Sky Red Line, Pontiac Solstice GXP, and the aforementioned Chevy HHR SS. Also via cobaltss.net, we get a link to an official GM Planned Emission Certification doc that also lists a Cobalt with the 2.0L LNF engine (the planned certification is BIN5/LEV2, by the way). So, that's it. The writing on the wall says that a Turbo Cobalt is coming. And while we don't have anything to add, you might want to mosey back here very early Sunday morning. You know, in case anything new comes up.

[Source: GM Inside News, CobaltSS.net]

The Saturn Sky is a great-looking, powerful, and immensely desirable American roadster. The Sky Red Line takes all of that goodness and infuses it with 260 horsepower and 260 lb-ft of torque via a 2.0L turbocharged Ecotec four. That's good for a 5.5-second 0-60 time and a 13.9-second quarter mile.

Best of all? The price of entry is a very reasonable $27,895. Given the high desirability and limited availability of the Red Line, don't be surprised to see dealer markups that will bump that number up -- in some cases, significantly.

If you can get your hands on one for MSRP, it's not like you're getting a stripper, either. A/C, traction control, OnStar, Stabilitrak, and Bilstein coilovers are among the goodies that make the standard equipment list.

Saturn dealers are taking orders now. What are you waiting for?

Update: It should be noted that Saturn's GM, Jill Lajdziak, has been emphatic in stating that dealer markups will not be tolerated on the Sky and Sky Red Line. You may need to wait, but you won't pay more.

(Press release after the jump)

[Source: GM]

The dust has barely settled from the debut of Saturn's Sky roadster, and Saturn is already unveiling a high-performance variant. The big news is under the hood, where the Red Line model gets the Ecotec turbocharged direct-injection engine, good for an inspiring 260 hp at 5300 rpm and 260 ft-lb of torque at 2500 rpm. At 2.1 hp per cubic inch of displacement, the turbo Ecotec sets a General Motors record for specific output.

The Red Line will grace your local Saturn dealer's showroom this fall.

We'll have more coverage from our crack team of NYIAS reporters, but in the meantime, enjoy the press release and more photos after the jump.

[Source: GM]