For many people in America, summer is just around the corner. That means getting to swing a leg over a motorcycle or go top-down in a convertible. If you’re shopping for a convertible for this season, be sure to take a peek at a Pontiac Solstice or a Saturn Sky, you might be surprised at how fun they are.
Back in 2007, teenage me booted up a brand new Xbox 360 and popped in my very first Xbox game, Test Drive: Unlimited. That game was so fun that it’s permanently imprinted in my memory. I know we aren’t a video game site, but let me gush for just a moment here.
Yes, the physics weren’t great and the car customization was practically non-existent. But you know what I loved to do? I loved to hop in my digital Saturn Sky Red Line and take a road trip around the game’s interpretation of Oahu.
The scale of this game was impressive. Today, games like Forza Horizon 5 wow with incredible scenery and dynamic weather. Test Drive: Unlimited? The sheer scale of it was immense. Test Drive: Unlimited‘s map was an astonishing 596mi². Compare that to just 38mi² for Forza Horizon 5. Seriously, if you decided to drive the entire ring of TDU’s map, it was well over 200 miles long. Couple that with the avatars, the 80-player multiplayer servers, the houses, and the interactive virtual car dealerships, and the game was a ball. I still remember 20+ people drag races in the game.
What I’m getting at here is that a video game created then cemented my love for GM’s Kappa platform cars. These were another one of those awesome Bob Lutz ideas and I’m glad that they were put into production, even if parts bins had to be robbed to get there.
Buying my 2008 Saturn Sky Red Line last year was a dream come true! The real car is even cooler than the digital one.
Today’s COTD winner Nsane In The MembraNe took me down memory lane in Shitbox Showdown:
I have a deep nostalgic love for the Solstice. I still have memories of being at a barber shop with my dad one Saturday afternoon, opening a car magazine, seeing the concept, and falling in love with it. I remember being ecstatic when it actually went into production…and I still get excited when I see them or Saturn Skies in person.
Are they amazing cars? Not really. They’re mid 2000s GM parts bin zombies. But the recipe works every time…they’re small, rear wheel drive, manual, and have a roof that goes down. If you can’t enjoy that I don’t know what to tell you. They’re also cheap.
I regularly browse local listings for small manual roadsters and you can find decent enough examples for under 10 grand and nice examples of the Redline/GXP for about 15. Plus a lot of folks bought them as pure weekend cars so many were garage kept and have low miles. I think they’re slept on to be honest and I may take the plunge on one of the turbo versions at some point.
As much as I love Miatas I also love weird and different stuff. These are weird and different but are yet to be coated in Unobtanium. Hopefully it stays that way.
Honestly, you can’t go wrong with either of the Kappas that we got in America. The Pontiac Solstice and the Saturn Sky are the same cars underneath but with different external flair. You also can’t go wrong with engine choices. The king is the 2.0-liter Ecotec LNF turbo four found in the Solstice GXP and Sky Red Line which makes 260 HP and 260 lb-ft torque. In my experience, this engine will put a smile on your face with every stab of the throttle.
Though, some searches of forums suggest that the engine might not be the most durable thing in the world. I’ve seen a lot of these for sale with dead engines with around 150,000 miles, sometimes less. Nobody knows how many of these die off, but they seem to die more often than the naturally-aspirated cars.
But that’s fine! The base 2.4-liter Ecotec LE5 seems to be a durable engine. The engine is making a less impressive 177 HP and 173 lb-ft torque. It won’t wow you, but I’ve seen a lot of LE5-equipped Kappa cars with 200,000 miles and even 300,000 miles on them.
GM even infused some Corvette DNA in these by giving them hydroformed frame rails and a double-walled driveshaft tunnel. Subjectively, I feel like I fit better in one of these than in a Miata. What I’m getting at here is the next time you look for a convertible, consider a Pontiac Solstice or a Saturn Sky, you’ll be glad you did.
When these were in production I was working at a GM supplier and frequently visited all of their plants. As Wilmington, Delaware was functionally a start-up I was there fairly often. Interesting place – previously had been building Saturn L-series sedans and wagons at high volume. To build the Solstice/Sky they simply ripped out a small bit of the equipment in the factory and set up a low-volume station build system where the car was built on a cart and wheeled to each different assembly station. Frames were welded up by hand with jigs – no robots to be seen. Due to UAW work rules, the average age of the guys building these was about 55 (most younger workers were laid off when the L-series was stopped). But the cool thing – most of the guys that I talked to were really happy to be there and enjoyed building the cars. Lots of opportunity for skilled work unlike a normal assembly plant. The quality I saw was good as well. While most of the GM facilities that I visited were pretty forgettable, the Solstice plant was fun. Was sad when production stopped as I know most of the remaining workers probably were out of a job as that was GM’s last remaining east coast plant.
Would love to have a Solstice GXP coupe!
Unless you are over 6′ tall with long legs, same as Miata, you will not fit. But dang I love the Saturn headrest into trunk setup
6’7″ here. I fit in the Solstice, albeit it’s a tight fit, it’s doable. I’m also a guy who ripped out the seats in his Miata and sat on foam pads to enjoy the experience…
A friend had one and about a year ago needed a trailing arm, she is still waiting to find one as they aren’t made any more and her mechanic can’t find an aftermarket one, seems odd as they are fairly common
Parts availability is why these aren’t the smokin’ deal they seem like.
iRacing isn’t reality, blah blah blah, let’s get that out of the way. But the Solstice was my warwagon of choice in slow-car-fast races in iRacing. Just a bit of suspension tuning to dial out some of the understeer and it was good to go.
So I kind of am interested in having one for virtual racing nostalgia reasons, but considering the weather here, a hardtop for me please. If we can even get one. Etc.
The LNF is a perfectly fine engine; it gets killed by your typical owner who’s downright proud of keeping the car running with worm clamps, the cheapest parts they can find on Rock Auto, filling it with 83 octane and corn piss, and an 18 inch sub in the already nonexistent trunk. Simple as that.
Everyone knows the LNF’s weak point is the timing chain tensioner. It’s a maintenance item. You do it every 100k. Sooner if you see oil sludging or any plastic debris. That’s it. It’s basic maintenance. (No, timing chains do not last indefinitely, period. In any engine. Especially not when you have plastic guides.)
Past that? The LTG’s based on the LNF. They’re both overengineered, 100% advanced alloys, inside and out. The crank and cam are forged. The valves are sodium filled Inconel. GM offered an upgrade kit that took it to 290HP and 340ft/lbs which consisted of “here’s a pair of 3bar MAP sensors, a new bolt for one of them, an ECU flash, and the warranty sticker. Oh, yeah, it’s warranty covered. Have fun!”
That was it. That’s all GM needed to add 30HP and 80ft/lbs of torque. MAP sensors so the stock turbo could go from 18psi to 21psi nominal, and a slightly wider fuel band. That’s it. No intercooler. No turbo. No injectors. Two sensors and a flash for +30HP and +80ft/lbs.
And I’m not aware of ANY engine from any manufacturer that can achieve anywhere near those numbers for so little. Anything else you have severe impacts to reliability or need significant mechanical modifications. At least a new intercooler or new injectors. GM was just like “yeah, we sandbagged it, our apology is that the tune is new car warranty covered because we know it’s still not enough to break the engine.”
And if you start messing with LNF mechanicals? Look. There’s a reason I love the more refined LTG version. The 6700RPM cut is for reliability reasons; the balance out of the box is good to 7000. The rotating assembly in these is very light, and the valvetrain is ridiculous. Massively overbuilt due to the DI. A quick pass at the shop and you’re easily into 7200+.
If you wanted the ultimate hot-shit Redline? One, get it in green/tan or yellow. Two, custom machined timing chain guides and a machining pass to lighten the crank sprocket (reduce lash.) Three, GM’s factory performance kit. Four, quick balance pass and tune (increase cutout to 7000+, adjust torque curve, enable overboost below WOT but not at WOT.) I wouldn’t even lighten the flywheel; don’t need to. Obviously your usual odds and ends like a few bolts and a baffle for track use.
But that’s it.
Yes. I want one of these for a track toy.
The older Audi/VW 1.8T required nothing more than a basic tune to unlock 30-50 hp. No hardware upgrades needed. They were detuned from the factory similar to the GM engine
I’d love to try one, I’m too tall in the torso for a Miata. I drooled over the Sky when it released. Best thing to come out of late-stage Saturn.
They are decent cars, I just can’t get over how GM somehow still found a way to GM the sightlines of these cars. Maybe its that I’m a bigger guy, but I don’t have the problems with visibility in my ND Miata that I have in these.
The MASSIVE Onstar mirror damn sure doesn’t help
And if you ever get bored with it, just drop an LS in there.
You absolutely do not.
You call this guy to install a complete LS2/LS7 package including required suspension.
https://mallettcars.com/conversions/v8-sky/
Mallett used to be literally around the corner from me before they moved to North Carolina. In fact, many of the parts were also made quite literally down the street. So I saw the development mules and production ones all the time. Their primary mule was a ruby red Sky with vanity plates.
And believe you me, that suspension is non-optional unless you want to die. Especially with the LS7. Which can do a longer burnout than a legit COPO Camaro.
There was a guy at a Tucson area Cars & Coffee this weekend that had an LS swap Solstice. He’s happy with it, but said it’s turned out to not be that great of an idea. Very difficult to access and work on.
Hello test1 from seank lol
Oh wow, out of all the comments I’ve made this wouldn’t be the one I’d have predicted would be COTD, but hey…I’ll take it! Happy to be a part of this community where we can appreciate the Solstice and Sky. Also NEW COMMENTING SYSTEM HELL YEAH!!!!
I’m just bummed we never got the Chevy version. I heard it was going to look similar to the first gen Vette.
I still miss Test Drive Unlimited…
What a game.
I am usually up for Mercedes wild rides, but I can’t on this.
There is a rumor that they designed the engine bay to swallow an LS as well. AdamLZ put one in his Mom’s car and you wouldn’t notice unless you popped the hood. Just took a tune in the stock computer and removal of a useless bracket in the engine bay.
Hot Rod magazine did it, too. They even included a pretty comprehensive parts list so you could do it, too!
Yep – LS’s fit quite easily in there. Definitely seen a number of Mallett Solstices and Skys out there.
You could order them from the dealer with an LS2. Conversions done by mallett. Absolutely silly car.
https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/a18201744/mallett-ls2-v-8-solstice-specialty-file/
I bought a 5-speed GXP brand new in ’07 and upgraded it with a GM Performance reflash within a year or two, bringing the output to 290/340. I’d say it was a great little car, but honestly the Old GM built quality was terrible. When I sold it in 2013, it was on it’s third water pump, second high pressure fuel pump, and second soft top (all replaced under warranty). The AC compressor had failed the previous year and that, combined with the absolute drought in aftermarket supposed caused by GM’s premature termination of the platform, and I decided I’d had enough. Sold it, bought an Evo, and never looked back.
While they may make a fun weekend car, I’d advise anyone buying a Kappa today to be mindful of how far they’re willing to trust it to be reliable.
One fun thing? It’s the only car I’ve owned whose TPMS will display digital pressure values for each corner on the DID.
I don’t have anything to say, really, just Woohoo new commenting system!!!
ehhhhhh. Have you been in one tho? The interior is so shitty. Like…. example: On my old civic, the door lock knob had a hard plastic trim. Solstice? yeah, that little boss is molded into the door panel. And then drilled out. Off center. The door lock sticks into that drilled hole. The weatherstripping near the top of the windshield looks horrid. The whole build quality is like a cavalier, but trying to be cool. I appreciate the industrial design behind the exterior of both cars (sky more!) and even the performance, but … yeah give me a Miata every time instead. Those things are kind of trash.
Agreed. I had a Sky Red Line for about a year. Fun to drive, but otherwise typical cheap GM trash. Also a real pain in the ass to live with. Aside from the power bump, there is quite literally nothing this car does that a Miata doesn’t do better.
I own one, so of course I’ve been in one! 🙂 Yeah, GM’s interiors weren’t great back then. I also sat in a new Buick the other day and found myself disappointed. Still, I have enough fun that I don’t really care. I have other cars with better interiors when I want to drive them. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Test…
The LNF Ecotecs in the Solstice are similar to the LHU engines found in the 2011-up Buick Regal, Saab 9-5,etc… Between the K04 turbos that fail in multiple ways (usual bearing failures, plus exhaust housings crack in the wastegate area), and the biggie, timing guide/chain failures, it’s not a surprise that 2.0Ts fail fairly early in these cars. In any case, the Solstice is another part of Bob Lutz’s legacy of getting the General to get these made and to market.
I can’t speak for the 2.0 but the 2.4L ecotech was known to be very reliable in the Cobalt and G6 so I’m surprised it wasn’t reliable here
“For many people in America, summer is just around the corner.” Well, seeing as four of the next seven days are calling for snow, seems I’m not one of them. So naturally it makes sense that I’m looking to replace my sedan for a convertible.
I’ve been eyeballing these for years. I’ve got kids though, so the convertible needs to have a back seat. We’ve gone back and forth with Jeeps > Coopers for the fun 3rd car, owning a ’76 CJ5, ’05 R52 JCW Cooper S, ’95 Wrangler. I’d absolutely snag a Sky (might have to tint the tail lights, the once loved Alteza lights are like looking back at middle school pictures of yourself). I’ve always thought the Solstice was the better looking car, always saw 2-3 at SCCA events in Kansas back in the day.
How do you like the Cooper S? I’m between that and a Jaguar XK series for my fun convertible
I’ve owned 6 Coopers, they’re a riot, relatively reliable, Miata-like handling, great shifter, low center of gravity, and surprisingly roomy for big/tall people. This only applies to the first gen (2002-2006 hardtop/2005-2008 Cabrio) 5 or 6 speed *manual* versions. The CVT and 6-speed *auto* are both made of glass, and the turbo engines that came out in 07+ hard tops/09+cabrio are horribly unreliable.
The clutch replacement is 11 shop-hours, so its a good time to get a ton of front-end work done. Best to look for one thats already had this stuff addressed, and hopefully they didn’t skip any important stuff.
Always loved the way these looked, just a fun looking sporty vehicle, if only I could fit in one. Still tempting, I miss that open air, and a decent one of these could fill that void.