a more powerful turbocharged engine, upgrading the rest of the mechanicals, and tweaking the entire package on the world's most demanding race tracks, including the famed Nürburgring in Germany. The result is – and we're not kidding here – the most impressive performance car to wear a bow-tie badge on sale today." Journalists were impressed with the performance of the car in relation to the price; Neff added that the "2009 Cobalt SS Turbo is freakishly good at going fast and the best bang for the buck value below $30,000." Ron Kiino of Motor Trend said, "at only $22,995, the SS could stand for Super Steal." The MSRP was raised to $24,095 for the 2009 model year. The Nürburgring‑tuned suspension gives the Cobalt SS some of the best handling characteristics of any General Motors front wheel drive vehicle, and the suspension is stiffer and more refined than the supercharged car. Since the interior is hardly changed other than the seats, those criticisms remain. Of the interior in the turbocharged sedan, Car and Driver said it "is constructed primarily of plastics cheap enough to be rejected from a Chinese toy factory; the Tata Nano probably has a fancier parking-brake lever." The new Cobalt was the winner in its price class (under $30,000) of Car and Driver's 2008 Lightning Lap competition at Virginia International Raceway, beating lap times of several cars in the $30,000-$60,000 class including the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X. It held the front-wheel drive record until it was surpassed by the Honda Civic Type R in 2018. Four Chevrolet Cobalt SS cars were used in the Continental Challenge Street Tuner class in 2009. See also Chevrolet Cobalt GM Performance Division References External links 2008 Cobalt SS - GM promotional video 2010 Cobalt SS Turbocharged review 2008 Cobalt SS launch control demonstration Cobalt SS Front-wheel-drive sports cars Sport compact cars Coupés Sports sedans Cars introduced in 2004 Motor vehicles manufactured in the United States