PONTIAC SOLSTICE
General Motors' European Style Roadster
"Keep it simple, pure, and beautiful and it will be easy to love."
These
were the basic inspirations set down by Bob Lutz, GM’s chairman of North
American Operations, in creating a “sketch-off” for the first concept
vehicle commissioned by GM’s new product chief. The call went out at the end
of September and by mid-October, the Pontiac Solstice roadster was under
development.
With the European manufacturers still struggling to peddle their products in the US, there's a gap in the market for a compact roadster, particularly one that would appeal to American tastes. "The North American market is ripe for an affordable, pure roadster executed to top global standards on perceived quality, both inside and out," Lutz explained.
The program was executed in just under four months from the first sketch, to a drivable vehicle. The target was an affordable roadster that would sell for a paltry $20,000. The brief also detailed that the car must be very easy to build in a flexible manufacturing environment. This was accomplished using existing componentry from GM.
The
exterior is finished in a rich gunmetal gray color, apparently giving a slight
"European understatement" to the car. Imposing 19-inch front and
20-inch rear performance tyres and wheels fill the arches to provide a strong
and powerful stance that accentuates the curves of the body.
The drop-top is a simple “one-hand” operated manual fold down that stows neatly underneath the speedster-style hard cover. The driver-oriented cockpit uses a two-gauge cluster with tachometer and speedometer. Other critical driver information is displayed on a small LCD screen to the right of the main cluster.
The Solstice is powered by a rear-wheel-drive 2.2-liter DOHC supercharged EcoTec four-cylinder engine generating up to 240 horsepower with premium fuel. The supercharger is an off-the-shelf unit supplied right out of the GM Service Parts performance catalog. The engine is mated to a Borg-Warner performance six-speed manual transmission, the same one used in the Corvette.
The Solstice’s basic structure started life as a derivative of GM’s global small car architecture, with several modifications for structure and balance, including extensive use of aluminum.
There's
been speculation that this concept might have been based on the Elise/VX220 (witness the stacked exhaust VX220 style),
particularly now that GM have been working so close with Lotus on the VX220.
Component wise though, the Solstice draws upon a number of GM cars. The front
end uses a strut configuration with a rack-and-pinion steering system derived
from the Subaru WRX. The all-aluminum independent rear suspension is derived
from GMs mid-size crossover SUV family and also doubles as the mount for the
rear differential, which was derived from the new GM mid-size SUVs. Unique
fabricated drive-shafts power the rear wheels.
While no plans exist for production, Lutz is clear it’s something that’s on his mind.
"Obviously, you can’t say it’s going to be produced before it’s had a chance to make the rounds,” he explained. “Having said that, you’ve got to feel good about a vehicle such as this. Clearly we’ve approached it with a mindset toward production based on low investment, minimal validation time and flexible manufacturing."
