If we get 240 horses what weight are we looking at?:

Miata, 2400 pounds/150 horses, 0-60 8, 9, 10 seconds, (who cares)
My Camaro has about 350 horses and it weighs less then 3500 pounds, 0-60 in 5.0
Standard corvette, 350 horses/3000 pounds 0-60 in 4.7
The SRT4, 230 horses/2800 pounds, 0-60 in 5.8 seconds
2006 ZO6, 2900 pounds/500 horses, 0-60 3.5 seconds?

Obviously gearing and torque have much more to do with it. At $25,000 I'm hoping the Solstice will be good for a high 5 second 0-60 time at 2800 pounds. I want the Solstice to be bigger then a Miata and smaller then a mustang, about the size of a porsche boxter would be great. Anyone seen one in the flesh at a car show?

A barebones Z28 Camaro can easily pull off a low 5 second 0-60 time and it used to cost around $20K (yes that's 330 horses for $20K you SRT guys!) But the down size was that you got a big cheap muscle car that had a cheap interior) I don't mind giving up a little power for a better interior and a more modern suspension. I just hope GM builds the Solstice to be light enough to still be fast after they build the pretty body and interior.:o :o

I'm guessing we'll see numbers close to the SRT4, maybe a tad quicker. The Solstice should have more torque down low (supercharger vs. turbo) and RWD for a better launch than the SRT4. However, I wouldn't be totally surprised if weight creeps up near the 3000 pound mark. My best guess is mid 5's 0-60 and low 14's in the quarter.

-Stephen M

why do you guys think this car will be so heavy? my sunfire is 2600 pounds. this car is not going to have an automatic top so it should save weight because it is a convertible even though most convertibles add weight these days because they have automatic tops. gm needs to make this car 2400 pounds or lighter with a 240 hp engine. you want to talk about performance? less weight makes the car perform better in every category: acceleration, braking, gas mileage, handling. the solstice is supposed to be a ROADSTER. Roadsters just do not weight over 2500 pounds. if it does, then as much as i want this car, GM did a shitty job. the shelby cobra with a huge 427 in it still weighs around 2000 pounds. the miata is 2400 pounds. The Lotus Elise is under 2000 pounds. all of these cars are roadsters. if this thing weighs 2800-3000 i am going to be so pissed i won't be able to contain myself because just when GM has a good idea they make a porker of a "ROADSTER".

I would love to see the solstice end up in the 2400-2600 pound range, I just don't think it's going to happen. All the early press I've read on it has listed target weights in the 2800-2900 pound range. I would like to see it much lighter, but it doesn't seem to be in the GM design plan. I can't imagine it will end up any lighter than the Honda S2000, based on similar layout and power numbers. A couple of sites I found list the S2000 weight at 2800 pounds, but I'm not sure what the exact numbers are.

Part of the problem is that they're also trying to hit a low price point, which will limit the use of light-weight materials. It will probably end up heavier than the S2000 IMHO because of the use of forced induction and the relatively beefy T-56 transmission.

-Stephen M

Honda claims that the 2004 S2K has a curb weight of 2835 and a weight distribution of (% front/rear) 49/51.

Honda claims that the 2004 S2K has a curb weight of 2835 and a weight distribution of (% front/rear) 49/51.

Yeah, and the Mustang Cobra Convertible is close to 3800 pounds.

The Miata is terribly slow and the Lotus Elise is high $30K. The S2000 is fast but the high reving engine and loss of torque are annoying.

The T56 Six speed in the Solstice was orginally developed for the ZR1 back in the 90's. It's essentially a 5-speed with an over-drive gear. In my Camaro i hit 165 in 5th becuase 6th is still too tall. It's bullet proof though. It's the same transmission in the Viper, the Cobra, and it's in the rear end of the Vette. Ask the S2K owners what their cars' weakness is and they'll tell you it's the transmission and the rear end. 2800 pounds should be fine, especially with a platform that should be able to handle some heavy HP numbers.

"Ask the S2K owners what their cars' weakness is and they'll tell you it's the transmission and the rear end."

That is if you can get them to acknowledge any shortcoming with their cars. They are a ferocious bunch when it comes to their S2K. They seem to always point out a weakness in another car when you try to get them to talk about a design flaw in the Honda. Right now they are at each others throats about the "04" vs previous model S2K. Pretty sad really.

I couldn't give you an estimate on 0-60 times, but I'm going to wager a guess at a quarter mile ET at about 14.5 About inline with a GTP, maybe just a tad faster.

Of course, if it were even faster than that, I wouldn't complain :D