By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

GM just introduced a new LNF turbo upgrade kit for the Pontiac Solstice, Sky Redline and HHR SS. For $650 you can bump your hp from 260 to 290. Full press release after the jump!

Continue reading "LNF Turbo Upgrade Kit" »

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

When I saw the ride page that Neil built for his Solstice my jaw dropped. This is the first project that Tjin Edition did with GM back in 2006. Since then they’ve done a Cobalt SS and the G8 GT, and they are hoping to build a Camaro for them in 2009

The Solstice was designed by Neil and Gene Tjin. It was built by Adam Carpenter and Unique Fabrication, the custom three-tone paint job was done by Dlight Customs, and it was built in conjunction with One Lug Wheels, Mobil 1, and GM. It has a fully functional, fully legit chromolly roll cage with a built in air jack system. I asked Neil if he was worried about bashing his head on that roll cage without a helmet and he said no!

The theme of the car is a show/drift car. It has custom suspension, a completely tubed rear end with a custom fuel cell, and features a HAHN turbo kit. It has not been on the track as of yet, but it will see some track time in 2009.

For 2009 the car will get a custom hard top and Neil will swap the 1bar map sensor for a 2.5 bar out of a Cobalt, swap the turbo from the 16G to a 20G, and add a boost controller to turn up the boost and presto. This beast will have 440 hp! See a ton more pics and get all the specs for this amazing ride on Neil’s 2006 Pontiac Solstice ride page!

By Katherine Helmetag

Atomicalex

Check this guy out! He’s just moseying along at 35mph like the rest of us on I-75SB this morning. I saw him while driving to work in the insane snow we’re having up here. More snow pics after the jump, and don’t forget to clear off your lights before you hit the road. I need to see your brake lights, Cobalt driver!

Continue reading "Solstice in the Snow" »

You’ll most definitely remember our superstar CarDomain member freesol and his tricked-out Pontiac Solstice—it was one of the CarDomain rides cast for the new Fast and Furious movie, and it’s since appeared in an episode of the new Knight Rider series and is being considered for roles in the next installments of both Transformers and Cars (can you imagine your ride rendered as a talking Disney/Pixar cartoon? Rock). The Solstice comes to this year’s SEMA show as a returning veteran—I definitely noticed it last year as part of a display on the bridge between two of the exhibit halls, and I’m looking forward to checking it out in person next week. In the meantime, you can see more pics on freesol’s ride page!

Last week in Vegas, Rhys Millen crashed his Red Bull Pontiac Solstice after a differential failure made the car uncontrollable. But today, that nasty business was ancient history. Not only did Millen take first place in the Time Attack 2WD class on Pikes Peak, he crushed the previous year’s record by a whopping 14 seconds. From the way he looked coming crossing the finish line, it’s clear that the car was running perfectly. Check out this clip of him taking the checkered—doesn’t he look a little close to the edge?—and don’t miss him talking to me about the win below. Five pics of the Solstice after the jump.   

Continue reading "Rhys Millen Takes First in Time Attack 2WD!" »

Now, at least one Solstice forum found out about this week’s Showroom Showdown, but I doubt that alone explains the fact that the Solstice won by a 4 to 1 margin. Ouch! Personally, I think the Solstice looks way better, but I’d still take the Miata…

It’s always fun to pit domestics vs. imports, and this is a pretty obvious match up. Plus, both Pontiac and Mazda have done pretty well in previous Showroom Showdowns. Let’s keep the GXP out of this one and compare the 166 hp Miata to the 173 hp Solstice, since they are priced pretty close. And if you think you’re too manly to drive either of these cars, just pretend it’s a gift for your wife or girlfriend. So, which would you choose, the Solstice or the Miata?

This year, a group of Pontiac Solstice owners got together to form Team Solstice 2008, and they’ve already been drawing crowds at some of the biggest-name shows in the industry: members have had their rides featured at SEMA, as well as Nopi, HIN, and DUB shows around the nation. The Solstice is a ride that has tended to get dismissed automatically by those who don’t know any better; the car (and its twin, the Saturn Sky) is admittedly underwhelming in its factory form, and even the turbo version failed to raise more than a few eyebrows when it hit the market. But the Team Solstice crew take performance on these rides a whole ‘nother level, modding the crap out of the little Ecotech powerplants to the point where most of them are running 300-400 hp at the wheel. CarDomain member Madmods enjoys the light weight and good handling of the Solstice, but admits that it’s easy to stuff in too much power for the car to handle. David Gilbert of Performance Autowerks personally flew down to tune the motor on Madmods’ yellow Solstice at Vividracing’s dyno, and now the car accelerates so violently that chassis flex threatens to be a problem. Fabricating a brace, courtesy of Randy at DDM, helped to contain all of that extra power.

Bodywork is the next issue for these rides. Norm from Norm’s Fiberglass known one of the best fiberglass guys in the business, has done a ton of custom body pieces for Team Solstice members. Some of the guys are currently running his custom diffusers, and the striking Ferrari front clip on Madmods’ Solstice is one of Norm’s creations as well.

A bunch of Team Solstice members were showing off at HIN LA a couple of weekends ago, and next up is the national Solstice/Sky meet in Las Vegas on April 25-27, where they’re expecting over 100 cars, as well as media coverage, vendors, and a great time. A few of their members have also been selected to appear in The Fast and the Furious 4—stay tuned for our continuing coverage of the current filming. It’s great to see such a cohesive community of enthusiasts built around a car that’s not an obviously conventional choice for performance—and yet the performance they’ve managed to get out of these rides is impressive. If you’ve got questions for Team Solstice members or want to drop by and say hi, they can often be found hanging out on solsticeforum.com.

Just not sure if I like this thing yet. I think that Pontiac nailed the styling on the new Solstice Coupe. It has a beautifully sculpted bonnet and rear end, and is powered by either a 2.4L 173hp 4-cylinder for the base model or a 2.0L 260hp Turbo for the GXP. To me, however, it looks remarkable similar to the BMW M Coupe—maybe a little too similar. The other thing is that if you’re over 5’9" don’t even think about getting into this thing. I needed a shoe horn to wedge my 240lb, 6’4" frame into the Solstice, and a big ole’ pry bar to get me back out. This is NOT a car for those with any type of height or mass to them—it just won’t work. The interior is nicely appointed with the same look and feel of the Solstice roadster which means it’s sporty but not overly complicated. The engine is pretty accessible as well with its reverse-opening hood.

I suppose in the end I like this car because, let’s face it, it has all the elements of great sports car. Awesome styling, good power, and that feeling that makes you want to put your right foot to the floor maybe a little more than you should.

Early next week, Rob and I are headed to the Big Apple for the New York International Auto Show. We’ve basically been chained to our desks since returning from SEMA, so we’re both looking forward to getting out of the office. Along with all the general gawking, blogging, and picture-taking we’ll be doing from the show floor, we’ll also be hobnobbing with honchos from GM and Hyundai, and meeting some of our comrades from other automotive blogs. Personally, I’m looking forward to seeing the new GTR and Jag’s XF in person, picking up some Engrish-laden Chinese press kits, and of course, soaking up some nightlife. What do you want to see?