I Understand that it's basically and OPEL

[Scrapman]

I was talking to some GM guys a while back as well as through the Opel sites and saw the interesting news about the Sky. Sounds like a lot of the car is actually based off of the Opel Speedster. Anyone have any more details on this?

Scrapman

[skyguy85]

Sky is based off the Vauxhall Lightening or something like that. It and the Solstice have a 'kappa' frame and were designed overseas or so I hear the kappa was. AND production is so limited because the frame is very limited.

[soslowgtp]

1. The Opel Speedster and Vauxhaull VX220 are based off the Lotus Elise NOT the solstice.

2. The Solstice / Sky are NOT based of of those cars.

3. The Vauxhall VX Lightning is based off the Solstice, NOT the otherway around.

"The VX Lightning is a two-seater roadster based on the same technical foundation as the Pontiac concept Solstice"

The Kappa platform was put into motion AFTER the 2002 debut of the solstice.

I don't know if the kappa platform was designed overseas, parts of it might have been, but again I couldn't say for sure.

[brentil]

As mentioned the Kappa architecture has nothing to do with Opel, Vauxhall, or anyhting European. There was a Vauxhall VX Lightning car built that was based off the Solstice (an american car). The Saturn Sky borrows its EXTERIOR design from the Vauxhall designed car. The rest of the car is pretty much the same as the Solstice.

[Scrapman]

Might want to check out the Vauxhall and Opel official sites. There are the same vehicles with different names. Vauxhall and Opel are both GM. I understand that much of Vauxhall is Opel.

[KappaMan]

Vauxhall is the british arm of GM Europe. Opel is mostly the rest of GM Europe.

Opel also markets cars in the South American market.

Originally Posted by soslowgtp

...I don't know if the kappa platform was designed overseas, parts of it might have been, but again I couldn't say for sure....

Nope, the Kappa was born, bred and raised in the good ol' U.S. of A.

Just look at the gas filler neck - it's on the driver's side. If there were any European influence in the design or the platform upon which it is based or derived (but since it is new, it isn't a 'derived' platform), the car would have had the gas filler neck on the passenger (OUR passenger's) side (like the cavaliers, and malibus, and grand ams, and..... the list goes on).

[DuSpinnst]

Kappa is Lutz's baby. The speedsters are basicaly a GM Lotus. The Opel GT will be a rebadged SKY for Europe. Which is fine, they deserve a nice little roadster.

[Rik]

My avatar is a VX Lightning. Link to pictures of the VX: http://www.netcarshow.com/vauxhall/2...tning_concept/

[KappaMan]

info also available here:
http://www.solsticeforum.com/forum/s...7&postcount=26

and info about kappa platform here:
http://www.solsticeforum.com/forum/s...1&postcount=23