Chat about all things Bonneville (and related cars). Off-topic stuff should be in the lounge, and all mechanical problems should be posted in the proper forum.
DETROIT — Pontiac, the Excitement Division of General Motors (NYSE: GM), added another chapter to its rich racing heritage at the famed Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah when a four-door Bonneville barreled through the timing traps at 202.524 mph making it the first front wheel drive production car to exceed 200 miles per hour. The record breaking run occurred on August 16.
VETERAN SALT FLATS RACER HELMS RECORD-BREAKING ENTRY
One of 355 entries during Speedweek, the Bonneville was driven by 30-year race veteran Mike Cook, a member of the Bonneville 200 mph club. Cook has set records at El Mirage and Muroc dry lakes and was confident in the Bonneville's ability to exceed 200 mph, but knew the challenge lay in handling a front wheel drive production car.
"Because of the exceptional engineering that already exists in the Bonneville, the challenge lay with me to learn the nuances of front wheel drive at high speeds. The feedback was different than any other car I have ever driven," said Cook of the popular sedan. "Under normal driving conditions, the 3.8 V-6 engine can go from 0 to 60 mph in seven seconds. We started with a great product, which minimized modifications."
The Pontiac Motor Division was established as a performance division largely in part because of its participation in runs at the Bonneville Salt Flats. In June of 1956, 73-year-old race car driver Ab Jenkins and his son Marvin co-drove a Pontiac Series 860 two-door sedan for a run that broke all existing American unlimited and Class C stock car records for a 24-hour world speed record of 118.375 mph. To commemorate the achievement, Pontiac named the Series 860 after the Bonneville Salt Flats.
Since that time, Pontiac's image has focused on performance, fielding entries in the NASCAR Winston Cup and Busch series, the National Hot Rod Association and the American Speed Association.
The Bonneville is undergoing its transformation from a family sedan to a high-speed performance vehicle at Cook Motorsports in Norco, Calif. Some of the modifications include the addition of:* A roll cage * Aluminum racing seats* Competition seat belts* Custom-built wheels* A Deist parachute The Bonneville's supercharged 3.8-liter V6 engine is being re-worked by Richard Lee Performance Products and produces in excess of 455 hp@6000 rpm. Ported and polished cylinder heads have been re-worked by Morgan Engineering to substantially increase the power potential of the cylinder head. Special crank and rod preparations with balancing was performed by Evans Speed Equipment. Doug's Headers fabricated the custom exhaust system with thermal barrier coating applied by Engineered Applications. A fabricated intercooler will be added to the vehicle to pass cooler air to the supercharger to the engine. The 4T65E GM Powertrain transaxle is also being enhanced by Hydramatic Motorsports to run over 200 mph and the final drive ratio is changed from 2.56 from 2.93.
The Bonneville's supercharged 3.8 liter V-6 engine, which uses a Kenne-Bell supercharger, was re-worked by Richard Lee of Lee Performance Products (LPP) and produced in excess of 600hp @ 6000rpm. Ported and polished cylinder heads have been re-worked by Morgan Engineering to substantially increase the power potential of the cylinder head. A special crank and rod preparation with balancing was performed by Evans Speed Equipment. Doug's Headers fabricated the custom exhaust system with thermal barrier coating applied by Engineered Applications. A LPP fabricated intercooler was added to the vehicle to pass cooler air from the supercharger to the engine. The 4T65E GM Powertrain transaxle was enhanced by Hydramatic Motorsports to run over 200 mph and the final drive ratio was changed to 2.56 from 2.93.
