Saturn ION Red Line Sets Speed Record

Bonneville, Utah October 17, 2003; Saturn's new ION Red Line quad coupe raced into the record book at the Bonneville Salt Flats on Oct. 17, 2003, establishing a new mark in the G/Blown Fuel Altered class at 212.684 mph. The record-setting Saturn, which is based on the new factory-built ION Red Line sport compact and powered by a turbocharged 2.0-liter Ecotec four-cylinder engine, eclipsed the previous 183.086 mph record set in 2001 by a Honda Civic by nearly 30 mph.

GM Performance Division launched the Saturn land speed record project to demonstrate the ultimate performance capabilities of the ION Red Line package under extreme conditions. GM High Performance Vehicle Operations engineer Jim Minneker piloted the front-wheel-drive ION Red Line in Saturn's first official record run on the world-famous Salt Flats.

"To set a speed record with the Saturn ION Red Line our first time in competition was a tremendous accomplishment for the entire GM team," said Minneker. "The ION Red Line coupe and the Ecotec engine ran like clockwork. This package has tremendous potential, I wish that we could run at Bonneville again next week. I'm confident that we could raise the bar even higher."

The Saturn land speed record project brought together the technical and human resources of General Motors. The program was led by the GM Performance Division, in collaboration with Saturn, GM Powertrain, GM Performance Parts, GM Racing, and the GM Design Studios in Warren, Mich., and Los Angeles. The So-Cal Speed Shop in Pomona, Calif., assisted in vehicle preparation and logistical support for Saturn's successful assault on the record book.

"The success of the ION Red Line at the Bonneville Salt Flats was the result of a total team effort," said GM Performance Division Executive Director Mark Reuss. "It demonstrates in a very compelling way what GM can accomplish with a coordinated effort that integrates our technical capabilities in engineering, design and advanced technology, along with the energy and creativity of our people. It also shows that the Saturn ION Red Line is a serious performance car, capable of achieving record-setting speed with the same basic architecture."

The ION Red Line land speed record holder will be displayed in the GM exhibit at the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) trade show in Las Vegas on Nov. 4-7, 2003. The GM exhibit will also showcase a streamlined Ecotec-powered lakester inspired by the record setting cars built by early hot rodders using the belly tanks (auxiliary fuel tanks) from World War II military aircraft. Designed by the GM Advanced Studio in North Hollywood, Calif., the high-tech lakester is a 21st century version of a classic Bonneville design that stretches the performance envelope with a production Ecotec powertrain. A turbocharged GMC Canyon midsize pickup customized by So-Cal Speed Shop to perform the traditional duties of a push truck at Bonneville will also be featured in GM's tribute to the annual speed trials at the Salt Flats.

Previous Press Release:

Saturn on the Salt Flats: GM Launches Land Speed Record Run

Bonneville, Utah - Records, it is said, are made to be broken. GM did its part to continue this longstanding tradition on the Bonneville Salt Flats by creating three exceptional vehicles for the Bonneville World Finals speed trials: a Saturn ION Red Line quad coupe, a customized GMC Canyon support truck, and a high-tech, 21st century version of the venerable streamlined lakester design. GM Performance Division assembled this trio to showcase the performance of GM powertrains, the versatility of GM vehicles, and the skill of GM personnel in one of the most extreme environments on Earth.

"These remarkable machines are a preview of things to come from GM," said GM Performance Division Executive Director Mark Reuss. "The Bonneville Salt Flats is steeped in history and tradition, but the Saturn land speed record project signals an entirely new approach to performance at General Motors. This wasn't a back-door, 'skunk works' project - it was a fully integrated factory effort that brought together the best resources and many of the brightest people in our organization to make a bold statement about GM's capabilities."

Led by the GM Performance Division, the assault on the salt was a collaborative effort with Saturn, GM Powertrain, GM Performance Parts, GM Racing, and the GM Design Studios in Warren, Mich., and Los Angeles. Jim Minneker, a GM High Performance Vehicle Operations engineer and professional race car driver, piloted the ION Red Line. The So-Cal Speed Shop in Pomona, Calif., a company with a 55-year heritage at the Salt Flats, provided logistical support for the Saturn record run.

"The Bonneville Salt Flats has been associated with the distinctly American sport of hot rodding for decades, and the Saturn ION Red Line is a tuner car with a distinctive American style," Reuss noted. "It's a different kind of tuner car, just as Saturn has positioned itself as a different kind of car company that appeals to savvy, knowledgeable customers. The Saturn LSR project reflects and respects the unique culture of Bonneville.

"The Saturn land speed record program also capitalizes on GM's history and heritage at the Salt Flats our foreign competition simply can't match," Reuss added. "With this program, GM Performance Division is continuing the corporation's record-setting tradition on the most spectacular natural race course in the world, while starting a new era for Saturn, for the Ecotec four-cylinder engine and for GM."

The production Saturn ION Red Line quad coupe rolls off the assembly line with the right stuff for serious street performance, including a supercharged and intercooled 2.0-liter, 200-horsepower Ecotec engine, a five-speed gearbox, a racetrack-bred suspension, 17" diameter forged alloy wheels, an eye-catching aero body kit and performance front seats. The Bonneville-modified ION supplements this factory-installed package with a race-prepared turbocharged 2.0-liter Ecotec engine, a modified Hydra-Matic 4T65-E transmission, required safety equipment, and wind tunnel-tested aerodynamic enhancements. GM Performance Division engineers maintained the close connection between the production and race versions by using the same front-wheel-drive platform, the same aero package and many of the of the high-performance suspension components as the stock ION Red Line.

While the supercharged ION Red Line originated on the Saturn assembly line in Spring Hill, Tenn., the Lakester is straight from the supercharged imaginations of the staff at the GM Advanced Studio in North Hollywood, Calif. Inspired by the streamlined lakesters that early hot rodders fashioned from war surplus fuel tanks used on military aircraft, this vehicle is a futuristic interpretation of a classic design. Hewn from high-tech composite materials and modeled with math-based computer technology, Director of Design Frank Saucedo and his staff created a stunning new solution to the problem of packaging a driver and engine within a stiletto-thin body shell. Powered by a transverse-mounted 200hp supercharged Ecotec crate engine that will be available from GM Performance Parts in mid-2004 and employing Formula 1-style suspension components, the Lakester shows that the spirit of innovation thrives at GM.

In keeping with the low-key, no-frills tradition of the Bonneville speed trials, the GM Performance Division relied on a pair of GMC pickups to carry cars, parts and personnel to the sanctuary of speed - there were no massive 18-wheelers for this team. A GMC Crew Cab duallie pickup hauled the heavy freight, while a customized GMC Canyon midsize pickup filled the vital roles of mobile command center and support truck for the ION Red Line race car. The 2004 Canyon Crew Cab was prepared for its assignment on the Salt Flats with a GM Powertrain-developed turbocharger kit that boosted the inline five-cylinder (I5) Vortec 3500's output from 220 horsepower in stock trim to 350 horsepower. A full roll cage, fire control system, hard pickup bed tonneau cover, custom sport seats and a CB radio enhanced the Canyon's Professional Grade capabilities.

The recipe for a successful land speed record is simple in concept yet complex in execution: Mix ingenuity and innovation with equal parts horsepower and technology, stir in the fearless soul of a test pilot, season with seven miles of wide-open salt, and blend at blinding speed. The result is the first entry in the Bonneville record book for Saturn and the GM Performance Division - but certainly not the last.