Solstice with Folding Hardtop on the Way

Look out Miata PRHT, the Solstice PRHT is a-comin'.

A prototype Solstice with a folding hardtop has been spotted at the GM Tech Center in Warren, Michigan. This shouldn't come as a surprise since the original Solstice concept by former Pontiac designer (and now design director at Mazda North America) Franz Von Holzhausen was a coupe.

Read "Exclusive Breaking News: Retractable Hardtop Solstice Under Development" @ Pontiac Solstice News

Hmmph...

The fastback, full hardtop coupe concept was such a tasty stunner.

Will this be hunchbacked like the MX-5?

Folding hardtop? I doubt it. From how the article read, we should expect a straight-up coupe on this one.

This came from the article. I don't think it's really possible to make a folding hardtop this way.

Our souce says that the prototype looked like it was still under development. The styling follows the general lines of the original coupe concept, with a fastback roofline that blends into the tail of the Solstice. No public information on the hardtop Solstice has been released by Pontiac yet.

Hmmm... I shot off at the mouth without clicking on the link. My fault.

No problem, Blu.

Whoever said it was a folding hardtop must believe that the Solstice must match the Miata for every step. Can you imagine how heavy a FH Solstice would be? It's not gonna happen.

However, a traditional coupe will. We've known about such a car for a while now, and if such a car is coming, it should be going through development stages right now.

Right at you, Miata...

But I hope that doesn't mean trunk space = flat zero. I'd rather have a fastback hatch coupe (Read: Cayman).

a folding hardtop would mean less than zero trunkspace - they'd have to work some major magic. I hope the above posters are right that this is actually all about a coupe.

*edit*

Hmmm... a Solstice coupe... I wonder what that would mean for the Sky?

"Introducing, the saturn... ummm... Ceiling!

Yeah, I would kinda expect there to not be a Saturn version. Unless they called it the Curve, after the other Saturn concept...

Edited October 14, 200618 yr by PurdueGuy

Yeah... I thought that'd be hard for a folding hardtop. And ofcourse, IMO, a folding hardtop would be pretty much retarded for the Solstice. It's carrying around too much weight as it is and it already has virtually no trunk room. Retarded... and basically impossible. An actual fastback coupe is certainly more practical and would probably be much more of a success.

The solstice coupe was very, very neat, but the market seems to like folding hardtops more these days. And you have to produce whatever sells...

It would certainly compete very favorably to the BMW Z4 coupe and the Cayman. To differentiate the two Kappas, give the Solstice the teardrop fastback roof of the concept, and the Sky a shooting brake roofline, a la Nomad.

A retractable hardtop for the Miata is likewise retarded. It complicates things beyond what a pure roadster should be, especially because the Miata's ragtop is stupid simple to operate. I'd rather get a G6 or Sebring because that extra weight sacrifice would be matched by more power and room for four.

Bring on the fastback Solstice.

A retractable hardtop for the Miata is likewise retarded. It complicates things beyond what a pure roadster should be, especially because the Miata's ragtop is stupid simple to operate. I'd rather get a G6 or Sebring because that extra weight sacrifice would be matched by more power and room for four.

Bring on the fastback Solstice.

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G6 and Miata completely different cars. Nothing against what you're saying, but you aren't the market if you would settle for a G6. I agree a retractable hardtop for Miata sounds dumb, but Miata is featherweight, let's see how they execute it. A lot more power and you could have SLK competitor on the cheap.

I agree Miata ragtop is already a good solution, I'm pretty much against hardtops, except when they add to the design value, such as in most cases, especially G6 and XLR.

To the above, this is certainly not talking about a folding hardtop for Solstice, no way no how. NG Kappa should have softop with more power for Caddy, however. Solstice coupe is a damn good idea just waiting to burn up the charts. Make it with a small backseat and you have a spiritual successor to the Silvia. Make it lightweight, and you'll have a great little car priced cheap that would bring tons of attention to Pontiac.

I just answered my own question:

Autoweek Miata Hardtop Review

Pretty impressive. Of course, I've grown to not expect those levels of execution from GM, hopefully they can help me cure that in the future.

Folding hardtop ? And they are going to stick it where ? And at what price ? and at what performance losses ? So now how much would the car weigh ? Maybe they could make a "Continental" style trunk to make way for this "top" ?

atta boy "Czar" putting your money and focus in the right place...........like you did the trunk

form over function = Czar

form over function = Czar

form over function = Czar

Like I said, Razor, it won't happen. A coupe will, but not a folding-hardtop. It's impossible to engineer a top the way the article described it. Whoever saw the car must have been mistaken or blind.

Wonder where ya heard of this from.

I'll be updating my news story shortly, with the actual model that will be made.

Wonder where ya heard of this from.

I'll be updating my news story shortly, with the actual model that will be made.

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Slim Jims are made of dead horse, they go good with Pabst Blue Ribbon.

I would be shock that a folding hard top would arrive anytime before a new platform comes out after 2011.

As for a coupe it could be done as easy as the bolt on Kamm back that has already been show by an outside firm.

I think it is a no brainer not to offer the coupe as a alturnitive since it could be done very cheaply.

If the they do a coupe solstice is a coupe sky going to naturally fall into place as well???

Who says anything is going to be a coupe anyway???

I liked the closed coupe concept a bit better than the roadster concept. Legal bodystyle for racing, instead of the tacked-on hardtop on the roadster body. Absolute killer looks. An excellent opportunity for Pontiac.

Wow Mazda was able to pull it off with only 77lbs more weight and no trunk space difference, thats very impressive.

I made this a while ago...

http://www.cheersandgears.com/forums/index...?showtopic=5880

I think they should make a hardtop coupe version of the Solstice and price it around 17-18K and watch them fly off the dealer lots.. this is what they should have did instead or rebadging a Cobalt..

I loved the removable steel factory hardtop for my Alpine, it was good looking too. I didnt find the top on the GXP concept very sexy.

If you have a canvas for rain emergencies and a removable at home for poorer weeks anyone in this roadster catagory that is to taken back by not having some fancy folding steel mechanical nightmare taking up their trunk is far too much of a pansy to be driving a real sports car................. (hows that for a sentence ? )

This is a nitch car anyhow.........that now has stiff competition from "another car company". Its going to take years to get payback for developement dollars, by that time the spell will have passed and people will be buying roadsters with "disproportional over hangs" that offer a trunk..............

The solstice soupe is an excellent idea. I think that dealers will have a harder time keeping those on the lot than they currently have. i know i would buy one

A true Solstice coupe (or 3-door hatch) would sell greatly because it would remove the Solstice from being a 'specialty' car to a simply great, cheap, mod-able urban sports car.

I'd love them to do this: Ferrari Super America. The flip top is just so cool and leaves the trunk space alone. Of course, the two humps on the back of the Solstice would go away, but you'd have the permanent flying buttresses to take up the slack as to visual cue. Not sure if Ferrari has a patent on that type of top, but it is cool.

And, yeah, I know that Clarkson on Top Gear said that it would collect water and dump it on the passengers, but I doubt it's that much of a problem.

The Solstice coupe concept ,as shown, is what I would buy. Retractable hardtops are compromise cars by definition and I wouldn't buy one.

Yeah, and when I say "coupe", I mean it has to be a hatch. Way cool.