[squilliam]

I saw this Kappa posted on one of the Facebook groups, and I'm so in love with the body lines that I NEED to know more.

Does anyone know more about this?

It legit looks like a high end sports car in the making. This is what Kappas should have been.

 

[marlboromike]

GM did not want the SKY to compete with the Corvette....I could go further with this but I won't...except, the SKY was going to be built in the Corvette factory in 2012....that was the rumor.

 

[SaturnSkyRedline2015]

This was a Nankoo design project for a new solstice hardtop back in 2016/2017. Don’t believe more than 1 was made. Utilized glass from a 240z.

 

[marlboromike]

The design of both Solstice and Sky is used by many independent manufacturers....ie, Breckland....and u see the influence of the SKY in exotic vehicles....it became a universal beauty contest for manufacturers....they bastardized the Kappas.

 

[Ian Parker]

I like that white rim on this car, it complements the color of it.

 

[rjgramps]

GM has a reputation of killing a creative idea after generation #1 when it comes to two-seaters like the Sky/Solstice/Opel-GT, Fiero-GT, and Reatta. In the case with a Kappa, they should have refined it and rebadged it as a Buick and keep it alive. GM always gives up too soon.

I have to give Mazda a lot of credit with the Miata maintaining production since 1990.

 

[sahein]

Gm does seem to have a reputation of waisting money by stopping production of great vehicles too soon. For instance: Chevy Cruze was GM's best selling car that noze-dived after model changeover in 2016 then was terminated in 2019.

 

[RedOne07]

Remember that GM had no real choice when dissolving Saturn and Pontiac.

Also production at Wilmington was too expensive to begin with.

 

[LAC Sky]

Cool looking one off concept for a coupe version of our car.
Wait... I thought we had a Coupe - Solstice GXP.
Lower roof line, no humps on the trunk.
In fact no trunk either? No convertible roof, no trunk- no longer a roadster.
Kinda looks like a 370Z imo.

LAC

 

[rjgramps]

Remember that GM had no real choice when dissolving Sky and Pontiac.

That is hard to understand.

There is a working assembly plant, tooled up, people and processes in-place. I wonder if everything Kappa including engineering & supply chain, could have been purchased in-whole.

Cost of operation is another matter. Back in the day when Saturn was birthed, Saturns were built in Spring Hill TN where labor was cheap and unions didn't have a grip. No doubt everything was available at fire sale prices including that TN plant. It's too bad someone with deep pockets didn't have "vision" to see the Kappa and other orphans as an opportunity. The Miata was unchanged for so many years. Just minor cosmetic updating could have been done at opportune times as tools, stamps, and molds wore out, would have kept it alive, and maybe well profitable. Certainly initial investment was extremely cheap. Common parts with GM, just maybe it would have made for a sweet partnership.

 

[RedOne07]

I alway assumed and understood getting rid of Saturn and Pontiac was part of the government bailout deal / ch.11 bankruptcy.

 

[DaveOC]

I alway assumed and understood getting rid of Saturn and Pontiac was part of the government bailout deal / ch.11 bankruptcy.

It wasn't so much getting rid of the Pontiac and Saturn Kappa cars as it was getting rid of the Wilmington plant and support structures that ended up killing the Kappas.

☹

.

 

[SkyVue2]

I like that white rim on this car, it complements the color of it.

Agree

 

[RedOne07]

Getting rid of that plant was a must in my opinion. Way too big and way too much overhead for the few cars they made.
Also when looking at how many weerks it took to sell a Kappa in the end I think it was clear the end was near.

 

[sahein]

Desire to purchase a new Kappa was not the issue. The desire was there. But when the economy sucks, people don't have the money to buy a new car. Financial crisis of 2007–2008

 

[RedOne07]

Try paying for groceries with desires ;-)

 

[JohnWR]

Production was said to be scheduled to move to Bowling Green for MY12, and a lot of the dropoff in sales was due to buyer's concern that they would not be able to get service for an orphan.

 

[shungness]

I saw this Kappa posted on one of the Facebook groups, and I'm so in love with the body lines that I NEED to know more.

Does anyone know more about this?

View attachment 114937

It legit looks like a high end sports car in the making. This is what Kappas should have been.

I’m sure this is a silly question, but what does Kappa mean?

 

[44thSKY]

There have been several fiberglass coupe tops fabricated that look very striking. But you have to wonder how they made the interior to match a beautiful looking exterior. The interior of the Sorento Coupe space is limited, as mentioned. But I want both the finished interior, noise free window fit, and great exterior appearance. I believe they are a great looking car and everyone says so. For my money, just buy a Pontiac Solstice Coupe. I did. Here is recent
photo. IMHO

 

[JohnWR]

I’m sure this is a silly question, but what does Kappa mean?

Kappa was GM's designation for the platform that the Solstice and Sky were built on.