Pontiac Solstice
Pure and Simple
By Warren Clarke
Date Posted 04-04-2002
Picture yourself as a car designer. In giving design specifications for a new car to you, your boss says, "Keep it simple, pure and beautiful, and it will be easy to love." Clear as mud, huh? The design team at General Motors was given exactly this directive from Bob Lutz, the company's chair of North American Operations. The designers pondered the task before them, adjourning to their studios to bring these rather vague and inscrutable words to life. The result of their efforts is the lovely-to-look-at Pontiac Solstice, a concept that was whipped up in a mere four months. This latest bit of "Pontiac Excitement" represents the first concept commissioned by GM's new product chief.
For his part, Lutz certainly seems pleased with what his veiled instructions have wrought. "The Solstice is striking in its purity and simplicity," he opines. "The exterior lines are strong, bold and clearly Pontiac — but not over-the-top. The interior is focused on the essential elements of driving — functional, precise and inviting, executed in a manner that exudes quality and tactile feel."
The Solstice, in roadster and coupe iterations, boasts sleek, rounded lines designed with a minimalist touch. Pontiac's signature dual-port grille brightens the car's front fascia. Meaty performance wheels and tires (19 inches in front, 20 inches in the rear) give the car a cocky demeanor, and play up its curves. With the roadster, open-air cruising is made easy thanks to a one-hand-operated manual drop top that folds swiftly beneath a speedster-style hard cover.
Within its cabin, the Solstice is swathed in leather, and titanium accents add dashes of gleam to its console and dashboard. GM states that its aim with the interior was to create a feeling of cleanliness and intimacy with attention to detail, while avoiding extraneous accents or controls. The instrument panel features a tachometer and speedometer; an LCD screen displays other important driver information.
The rear-wheel-drive Solstice gets its grunt from a supercharged version of GM's Ecotec 2.2-liter DOHC four-cylinder engine that generates 240 horsepower. The supercharger is an off-the-shelf unit lifted from the GM parts bin; indeed, many of the car's parts are already available. "This is about taking the best and most appropriate pieces from our system and orchestrating them in a way that is compelling," elaborates Lutz. A Borg-Warner performance six-speed manual tranny (the same as is found in a Corvette) connects the Solstice's power to the pavement.
The vehicle's front suspension utilizes a basic strut configuration, with an all-aluminum independent setup in the rear. Its rack-and-pinion steering unit is borrowed from the Subaru Impreza WRX (Subaru is one of GM's partners).
Given the ready availability of its components, it's possible that the Solstice will make it to the assembly line. Says Lutz: "This was one that we wanted to execute in a manner that would make production a real possibility."
reference:
http://www.edmunds.com/news/conceptc...2/article.html
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