If Red Bull were blue

The smack from the supercharger is complemented by a more robust five-speed transmission, the same cog-swapper as in the Saab 9-3. This tranny has a larger clutch plate than the one in the regular Cobalt, 1-inch shorter shift throws and a quicker final-drive ratio of 4.05:1. As an option -- and one I highly recommend for this peaky front-driver -- you can also get a Quaife limited-slip differential.

From a standing start, this thing goes off like a bug bomb. Thanks to equal-length halfshafts, which divide power evenly between the two wheels, there's no torque steer to speak of and the car accelerates dead straight. The clutch pedal is nice and heavy, and uptake smooth and progressive through the sweep of the pedal. The final-drive ratio sharpens the step-off acceleration and then the supercharger takes over, pulling a blue streak to the 6,500-rpm redline. This feels like a sub-6-second-to-60-mph car, but it runs out of gears on the top end. The car's resonant frequency -- when wind noise, road noise and all the whirring and chirring from the engine and driveline are at optimum equipoise -- is around 75 mph. Any faster than that and the car starts to wear on your -- or at least my -- aged wits.

The limited-slip diff is worth having if only because it comes as a package with the Recaro performance seats. If I had to point to the fun-driving chakra in this car, it would be these amazing seats, which seem to suck you into the structure of the car. Here's a little secret from your friend the car tester: Great handling is about 80% tires, 10% seat and 10% weight balance. Everything else is negotiable.

Chevrolet never tires of telling people it develops its cars on the Nordschleife, the hilly 13-mile road course at the Nurburgring, Germany's version of NASA's Vomit Comet. Yes, well, so do most companies. But you can't deny the Cobalt SS-SC is extremely well sorted, handling wise. The suspension is a substantially beefed-up version of the GM's multinational Delta platform (under the Opel Vectra and the Saturn Ion) with stiffer springs and struts and thicker anti-roll bars. The front suspension is independent MacPherson strut, and the rear is what Chevy calls a semi-independent torsion beam design.

Its innate dynamics are naturally front-heavy, but with the Z-rated tires you have to push pretty hard before the SS-SC will understeer. Generally, the handling is flat, predictable and well-mannered. The shock tuning is excellent and the car regains its composure readily after big avoidance-style maneuvering or heavy impacts from broken asphalt. The freeway ride is likewise quite settled and comfortable.