For just half of a decade, General Motors produced a set of twins that could almost be described as magical. The Pontiac Solstice and its Saturn Sky sibling packed tons of fun into striking packages, giving car enthusiasts about the closest thing they could buy to a GM equivalent of a Mazda Miata. But those cars are long gone and GM itself is in another era. If you’re sad you missed out on all of the fun, I have good news. The rarest, most “holy grail” version of the Pontiac Solstice GXP has surfaced for sale with barely over 6,000 miles. How can you say no to a small 260 HP coupe with a manual transmission?
How rare are we talking about here? While Pontiac and Saturn made plenty of these cars in roadster form, the coupes are pretty rare. Even rarer is the Pontiac Solstice GXP coupe, of which just 781 copies were built before the whole thing went bust. These cars had so much going for them. General Motors built these cars like it built Corvettes, but at a more affordable price. Their top trim levels include a turbocharged 2.0-liter four making 260 HP and 260 lb-ft of torque. Add in a manual transmission and you’re looking at a deeply underrated blast.
Yet, these cars have been slipping from minds perhaps just as much as their departed automakers. I’m not surprised someone loved their 2009 Pontiac Solstice GXP so much that they tried to keep the miles down. Who knows when will be the next time you could buy a car like this from General Motors? If you have enough cash and missed out when these cars were new, maybe that time is now.
It’s no secret that we’re huge fans of the GM Kappa platform here. I own a 2008 Saturn Sky Red Line — one of my teenage dream cars — and it’s impossible to frown while driving it. The engine produces more than enough, the car grips the road surprisingly well, and the design is so fresh I bet GM could put it back on sale today without any changes.
Why The Solstice Is Great
We’ve somewhat recently sung the praises of the Kappa cars, but I’ll let Thomas remind you why these cars were so cool:
From the turn of the millennium until about 2008, sports car buyers were spoiled for choice. In addition to the archetypal Mazda MX-5, Honda had the S2000, Nissan had the 350Z, and Toyota had the MR2 Spyder … and that’s before we even move upmarket. Small roadsters were a big deal in the 2000s, and GM wasn’t about to miss out on this sub-Corvette market. Well, specifically, one man wasn’t about to miss out: then-chairman of GM North America, Bob Lutz.
Lutz had a dream of an affordable American sports car, a dream that didn’t quite go places when he was previously at Ford and Chrysler. The Ghia Barchetta ended up becoming the milquetoast front-wheel-drive Mercury Capri, and the Dodge Copperhead concept was a brilliant show car that just didn’t make the transition to production.
A plan was set for the Solstice to feature a hydroformed chassis built using Corvette expertise to compensate for the reduction in structural rigidity convertibles normally see over coupes; short-long-arm independent suspension at all four corners; a longitudinal layout with rear-wheel-drive; and a price tag less than half of what the Chevrolet Corvette commanded. Sounds like quite the product to pull out of thin air, especially on a relatively shoestring budget of $250 million.
What Thomas didn’t note above is why GM had to go through the work to develop the Kappa platform. At the time, it was quite limited on rear-wheel-drive platforms. Sure, it had the Corvette, but its last compact rear-wheel-drive platform underpinned the Chevette. So, the only way forward was to make a new platform.
Now, you’d think it would be risky for GM to make an entirely new platform for what would almost certainly be relatively low-volume cars — at least compared to trucks and crossovers. GM must have known this, too, because it found fantastic ways to save development costs by raiding its parts bins. The base version of the Pontiac Solstice and the Saturn Sky have a 2.4-liter Ecotec four lifted straight from the Chevrolet Cobalt. The Aisin AR5 five-speed manual transmission comes from the Chevrolet Colorado, itself an evolution of the Aisin R154 from the Mk3 Toyota Supra Turbo. Heck, the Aisin AR5 is still out there being used in the Polaris Slingshot, too. Have you ever seen a transmission used in such a wide variety of vehicles?
It gets even more silly from there. The Kappa cars have axle shafts from the Cadillac STS, a storage bin from the Cadillac XLR, HVAC controls shared with the Hummer H3, brake calipers from the Chevrolet Malibu, the vapor canister from the Buick Lacrosse, and amazingly, the vapor canister vent valve is from the Chevrolet HHR.
But wait, there’s more! The side mirrors come from the Fiat Barchetta, the rearview mirror comes from the Oldsmobile Intrigue, and the instrument cluster is right out of a Chevrolet Cobalt. If you ordered your Kappa car with an automatic transmission, that was sourced from the Cadillac CTS. The same transmission was also used in the BMW E39 5 Series.
Specific to the Solstice — because the Sky had a more bespoke body — is the addition of reverse lights from the GMC Envoy and fog lights from a Pontiac Grand Prix. The Sky’s body has a reverse light shared with the Chevrolet Volt. Honestly, this list is probably only a fraction of the parts GM found to put into the Kappa platform.
Now, you might think that so much part sharing would ruin the experience, but I don’t think so. My Saturn Sky Red Line is perhaps the most memorable GM car I’ve ever driven.
Sure, you’re grasping at a steering wheel out of a Cobalt and checking your six in an Oldsmobile’s mirror, but these cars hug the road just as hard as their looks would have you believe. My Sky practically flew around the curves of the Ozarks in Missouri with grace and poise. I always felt in control and where the car’s limit was. Indeed, a Kappa car’s 2,860 pounds of weight makes it a bit porkier than the famed Miata, but if you can’t have fun in a Solstice or a Sky I would recommend seeing a doctor. Car and Driver seems to agree with me:
One needn’t be a sadist to flog the Solstice, but it never hurts to be a sadist. Getting up to highway speed is only a couple of redline shifts away. The 177 horsepower and 166 pound-feet of torque aren’t going to smoke the tires, but there’s a willingness to please that will keep you grinning. Drag racers might want to wait a year or so for the rumored turbocharged version, which should make more than 250 horsepower.
The Solstice might not have the power to kick out its tail at the exit of a corner, but entering a corner near the limit is easy because the steering offers crisp turn-in and the wide all-season 245/40R-18 Goodyear Eagle RS-As are predictable and easy to slide around. If you do carry too much speed into a corner, understeer will rear its shuddering head, but a slight lift off the accelerator will transfer enough weight off the rear tires to cause them to slip wide, which has the effect of tucking the car back into the corner. The wheelbase measures 95.1 inches, but start pushing the Solstice, and it feels like it Shrinky Dinks to about 80 inches.
Car and Driver concluded that, subjectively, the Kappas were better than the Miata. Yes, I know! “Solstice Is Always The Answer” doesn’t have the same ring to it. Mind you, Car and Driver’s test was limited to the slower 2.4-liter cars.
Later, the Solstice and the Sky would get the 2.0-liter Ecotec LNF turbo. That boosted mill bumped power up to 260 HP and 260 lb-ft of torque. That’s what my Sky Red Line has. In the hands of a capable driver, the faster Kappa cars hit 60 mph in 5.6 seconds.
That sounds sort of slow for this configuration. Apparently, it’s not the engine’s fault. The car buff mags just had such a hard time keeping the rear tires from lighting up. Amusingly, because of this quirk, the automatic is actually faster, taking 5.2 seconds to take the deed with less wheelspin. I can confirm that the rear tires like converting rubber into smoke. Maybe a performance tire would help that, but it’s so fun so I don’t care.
The Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky would be joined by the Opel GT, Daewoo G2X, and weirdly, the Tauro V8 Spider. Pontiac would go the extra mile and produce a coupe version of the Solstice with a slick fixed rear roof and a removable targa top. The cars were otherwise unchanged, but these are considered to be the holy grails of the Kappas. Well, so long as you’re not much into convertibles, anyway.
Pontiac built just over 66,000 Solstices between 2005 and 2010. Meanwhile, Saturn managed to punch out over 34,000 of its Sky between 2006 and 2009. So, these aren’t rare cars at all. But things get rare the second you start thinking about those coupes. Just 1,266 Pontiac Solstice coupes were built during 2009 and 2010. Of those, only 781 copies had the top-spec GXP trim and that speedy LNF turbo engine. Car and Driver notes that putting a hard roof on the Solstice didn’t really change the car’s performance.
This Solstice GXP Coupe
According to the history I could find on this 2008 Pontiac Solstice GXP coupe, it was purchased new in the summer of 2009 for $33,812. The car would later appear at a Hagerty auction in January 2024 with just 5,548 on its odometer.
During that auction, Hagerty noted that the seller of the vehicle was the person who bought it new in 2009. Like some collectors, it would appear that this person perhaps enjoyed looking at the car more than driving it. Hey, everyone enjoys cars differently. In the comments of the Hagerty auction the seller notes that they let the car sit for so long that they had to attach a battery tender to it to keep the battery from biting the dust. The car also failed multiple emissions inspections because it was rarely ever driven far enough to ready the vehicle’s systems. Ultimately, the seller says, they had too many cars and they decided to let this one go.
The vehicle would sell from that auction for the price of $28,000. I pulled the Carfax report and it looks like the second owner brought the car to Iowa, where they drove it about 500 miles over the course of 10 months. Now, as of January 19, 2025, the car is for sale here in Illinois, ready for a third owner to enjoy it.
Should you choose this car for your next adventure, you’re looking at a practically brand-new Pontiac Solstice GXP coupe with only 6,041 miles. The selling dealership didn’t bother taking many pictures of the rare car it has on hand. But the three images show a pretty ride. Allegedly, of the 1,266 Solstice coupes built, only 221 came in this color. So, who knows when will be the next time you see one of these with both ridiculously low miles and such a gorgeous color.
Unfortunately, I can’t tell you much about the car’s price. The selling dealership, Chicago Auto Sports, is one of those places that makes you call to get a price and I haven’t heard anything back as of publishing. Update: The price is $39,800!
Regardless, it’s so cool to see such a perfect version of what’s almost certainly GM’s most underrated sports car. These cars came and went in such a short time and that’s sad because GM really had something with the Kappa cars. But hey, if you have enough money and missed these cars when they were new, maybe now is your chance to experience how fun these cars are.
Anyone remember Fast Lane Daily? I wonder if that host still owns a Solstice GXP
I remember. I also remember Derrick saying he had sold it and wished he never did. But man that has to be damn near a decade ago now.
Yup he sold it and got a CLA, which he loved except for the screen to frame raitch 😀
As much as I like these, similar year manual Corvettes are like $10 – $15k less, so if performance (or cabin comfort, or storage space) is a priority, this doesn’t make much sense…
That’s not really a fare comparison because this is a collectable, low mileage very limited production numbers coupe model. Compared to a standard Vette.
You can get a well-cared for medium mileage drop top redline or gxp for well under $15k if you want to compare actual cost.
And that’s what you should buy if you’re in the market. These collector’s items are just bad investments. They cost too much and you’ll never see much return on investment because insurance and maintenance costs will eat up any appreciation that might happen.
People collect not to make money but because they are special and there is inherent value to that person in owning it and collecting it, showing it to people.
Investors buy to make money. Collectors buy because it makes them happy to own it and show it off. I wouldn’t conflate the two. Sometimes they coincide, sometimes (oftentimes) they don’t.
Like you (it sounds) I’m neither. I’m a consumer. I buy it to use it and that’s why I drive the hell out of everything I own and look for things that won’t cost too much while I do it.
I thought all Corvettes were collectible, limited production numbers vehicles?
Well, yeah, if you have a 1 of only 148 that had the automatic tranny, black and tan interior with a green exterior, convertible with the tan top, the tunes package, factory 50th anniversary decal, locking lug nuts, and factory rubber floor mats.
$39,800? This car appreciated $10k in a year?
Hard pass. Such a shame though because this is a super cool car. It would definitely go in the Sub-Zero section of my Cool Wall.
I can tell you that these also fit my 6 foot frame much better than the Miata of the same vintage. they were pretty special then, just apparently not enough to save Pontiac and Saturn in the end. I always wanted the Saturn version a bit more because of the more angular styling, but I would take either these days. i see plenty of GXP’s going for 5-10k right now. they feel like the Irocs of a couple decades ago. Nobody wants or appreciates them….yet.
Don’t forget you could get a Stage II kit straight from the dealerships which boosted these straight up to 290 HP@5200 rpm \ 340 lb-fts@3600 rpm
And at the time there was a tuner called Mallet that sold LS-2 swaps.
Still do, I believe
yes, I have this and 10/10 would recommend. Cost me like $800 dealer installed. It’s a no brainer.
The more I look at it the more I like the Solstice’s lines. I’ve always been more partial to the design of the Sky but that’s because I’m one of those heathens that isn’t a fan of kidney grilles in any application. Holding my thumb close to the screen I can imagine the Pontiac buckteeth as a jovial NC Miata grin instead and I feel like that suits the car’s mood better.
I’m guessing 6000 miles is on the high side for one of these. They were pretty much instant collectibles from the moment they came out. A buddy of mine had a GXP convertible and, while it was great to look at and a lot of fun, the quality of the plastics was shocking, the ergonomics were atrocious and you could either have the top down or a trunk (of sorts) but not both at the same time. It was a fun toy, but not something you could live with as a daily driver.
I see one of these every once in a great while. Pretty standard GM to build something cool and then pull it.
I never knew that these existed. Quirks and price aside, this really is a beautiful car. I never loved the front end but the side and rear profile are great. I’d take this over a convertible- I prefer the Miata RF over the Roadster as well. And it looks great in that color and I generally don’t love maroon-ish vehicles. Thanks for sharing.
Wow. I never knew these were a thing. I’m a sucker for a RWD coupe.
Over here in 2005 GM had just killed the mid-engined VX220/Speedster. That hardtop also couldn’t fit in the car.
Depending on where you are(I’m assuming Europe somewhere), it was sold there under the Opel/Vauxhall banner as the GT.
The VX220 was a badass ride though.
I’m in the UK, we never got it.
I just googled and they never built them with the steering wheel on the right side.
Once again picking a side of the road to drive on based on the ease of drawing a sword bites us in the arse.
I had a ride in a VX220 Turbo once. Crazy fast.
Considering in GXP guise they aren’t actually much lighter than the contemporary Corvette they are cut down from, these were pushing crack pipe even when they were new.
Lessee:
2008 Pontiac Solstace GXP: 280 HP, 2976 lbs, 280 hp turbo four, $40k
1997-2003 C5 Chevy Corvette: 350 HP, 3172 lbs, 350+ HP V8, $20k
Decisions decisions….
The C5 has a lower CdA and gets better highway fuel economy in the real world, in spite of having a much larger and thirstier engine. I wish it was as small or smaller than the GXP, as the C5 is so damned long and wide.
I own a GXP now, and had a C5 for 5 years. I’d buy the C5. I think a 10-15k convertible GXP is more a apt comparison, but I’d still do a C5. At GXP coupe prices, C6 all day.
Yeah, no. That’s a $30k car max.
“Update: The price is $39,800!”
Crack Pipe!!!
For $40k and staying in the same “family” a lightly used C7 corvette beats this in every metric. This is past crack pipe, it’s brain dead!
Pretty car.
But that price is total crackpipe.
If you want the best one of these on the planet, this is the price. Take it or leave it. I’d leave it too, but as a car salesman buddy of mine once said “there’s an ass for every seat”. The Internet makes it easier to find.
I’ve always loved the kappa twins and especially the Solstice coupe, was always my favorite. Unfortunately as seen here the ultra rarity imposed by Pontiacs untimely demise has keep prices for them silly since they were new.
$39,800???? I’ll have what they’re smoking, please. That’s insane. I can buy a 996 911, replace the IMS, and smoke this thing, and still have money left over. Or better yet, buy an original Boxster and have a LOT of money left over.
Dealer looking for a sucker. Typical.
The original owner of my Sky Redline traded in a 996 911 for it. No joke, I have the original sales receipt.
This is a grown up’s Hot Wheels car. Two thumbs up on my list of favorites.
I really wanted one of these when they came out, but it was a blink and you missed it thing in terms of availability
Kind of a historical artifact, too, as one of the last passenger cars to be manufactured in the Northeast
Ford Mahwah, New Jersey – closed 1980
Volkswagen Westmoreland, Pennsylvania – closed 1987
GM Framingham, Massachusetts – closed 1989
GM North Tarrytown, New York – closed 1996
Ford Edison, New Jersey – closed 2004
GM Linden, New Jersey – retooled for light trucks 1993, closed 2005
Chrysler Newark, Delaware – retooled for light trucks 1997, closed Dec. 2008
GM Wilmington, Delaware – closed July, 2009
The Wilmington plant was sold to Fisker Automotive and was supposed to be retooled to build the Fisker Atlantic, intended to be the smaller, more affordable counterpart to the Karma. Fisker received $21.5 million from Delaware and $528.7 million from the federal government for acquisition, retooling, and workforce recruitment and training. When Fisker collapsed in bankruptcy, it was purchased by Wangxiang Group for $18 million as part of their restructuring of Fisker into Karma Automotive, but never reopened, was sold in 2017 and demolished to make way for an Amazon warehouse.
How GM ever expected a 3.2 million sq ft factory to be profitable building only 2-seater RWD roadsters is beyond me, the Kappa cars always seemed like something that should have been built on a small line shoved in the corner of a pickup truck plant or something. The powerhouse alone was large enough to light a small city.
Even Saturn L-Series production wasn’t enough compared to the volumes they used to build. I could see GM planning to “eventually” fill it with more product had they had the funds to follow through on all the supposed product they had in the works. Like a switch to RWD for all the larger sedan lines, sometimes Zeta based, sometimes Sigma, with production eventually set up in North America. That would’ve been Oshawa, but then there were rumors and more rumors of more Kappa-based vehicles like a sport compact for Pontiac (could’ve been spurred by the Holden Torana rumors even though that concept foreshadowed the Zeta Commodore).
Still just amounts to a hodgepodge of specialty cars though. Alternately maybe that would have been an option to set up Astra production for Saturn had that worked out, it was already decided Spring Hill was going to build the Traverse after the ION/VUE so they wouldn’t move another small car there.
But it’s GM, we could spend the rest of time trying to make sense of it all…
yeah also you could get a late 90s-2001 bmw z3 or boxter SUPER cheap when these were new. if you wanted a real roadster.
I’m pretty sure the removable Targa panel DOESN’T store in the car when not in use. There is a tent like canvas top available, but that really takes the fun out of any trips you want to have it with you.
You would be correct! You know, GM things…
These cars are FULL of dumb shit like this though. The trunk being a complete joke, the horrible top on the convertible, they are terrible to see out of. Horrible interior quality too. Typical half-baked GM cars. Pretty, fast, decent to drive, but still terrible in so many wars. A Miata is just a much better overall package.
I own a GXP currently, been my daily for 3 years. It just never clicked for me. Just didn’t have the joy to drive a Miata does. I think a 350Z is honestly the more realistic comparison car.
It sucks when that happens. You buy a car that SHOULD be a great fit, and it just isn’t for you. BTDT.
I think the seller’s price is gonna be high. Used Mallet’s were not super $ not that long ago. Like a Flying Miata, but better. This one is very nice. https://www.mecum.com/lots/1112751/2006-pontiac-solstice-mallet-convertible/
My main issue with the Solstice is that every other variant of the Kappa platform car looked MUCH better IMO.
It being available as a coupe is interesting, and I guess the rarity will matter to some, but for me this kind of car should be a convertible/roadster anyway.
I think in roadster form the sky definitely looks better but I’d have a really hard time choosing between a coupe GXP and a Redline. Hell, I’d have a hard time choosing between the coupe and the TTRS behind it. The build numbers are rarer than some million dollar hypercars. I don’t recall ever seeing one in the flesh.
5’11” me got into a Solstice Coupe when it was sitting in the showroom of a then Pontiac/GMC dealer. I looked left. Instead of looking through the window, I was looking at the roof. I had to bow to look out of the window. I considered that a dealbreaker even before my sudden bout of claustrophobia, where I felt like I was in a plastic-lined coffin.
I was going to comment the same thing. I’m not a convertible person, so I thought the coupe would be just right for me, but I’m over 6′ and I couldn’t see jack out of the coupe except for straight ahead and directly behind. Complete deal breaker, though I still think it looks neat.
Having owned both a Sky Redline and it’s contemporary NC Miata, I can say with authority that, other than the power, there is not one single thing that the Kappa does that the Miata doesn’t do better.
That said, that coupe is cool and I want it.
I’d argue body roll nearing the limit is substantially better in the Kappa’s. But that’s the only other thing I’d argue is better.
-Fellow NC owner
C’Mon, do your journalistic duty and pick up the horn! Give em a call and tell us the price so 500 Autopian readers don’t have to.
I called them during the writing process and am waiting for a callback. Decided not to delay this for however long that might take. If they do call me back, I think I’ll also suggest more than just a couple of pictures!
And we now have a price! Thanks dealer! 🙂
The dealer should thank you. It may well generate a lead for them.