The M Coupe now has a stablemate!

E

epbrown

Active member
Much as I liked the Smart, I had an itch for a roadster as Spring approached. A 2nd Z4 seemed silly, having been there and done that. I was leaning towards some sort of old Porsche (911 cab, Boxster, 968 cab), and had decided pretty much on the Boxster as the Devil I hadn't tried, but worried about the IMS/RMS issues you always hear about with the 986/996 models. In the end, I did decide to try something new - something made in the US (for the 1st time in almost 30 years) and something turbocharged (never) - the Pontiac Solstice GXP. I also caught a break as far as Chicago weather goes - it was in the 60s here, so I was able to go top down right after I bought it. There's pretty much a fire sale on these since Poniac division was closed - i was $16.5k USD, and they gave me $10.5k for the Smart Fortwo Pure, so for 6 grand I got 260hp/260lb-ft. I've already scheduled it in for the GMPP upgrade - for $650, GM chips it to 290hp/340lb-ft.

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AlanJ said:
Not sure about the front styling but prefer the roadster to the coupe. Enjoy :)
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There's a rather nice aftermarket bumper I like, but you lose the fogs:

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I'd pass on the hood and side skirts, however.
 
It looks very nice. I always liked the Solstice and its Saturn Sky sister. We also get it in Europe as the Opel GT.

I'd love to hear your driving impressions compared to the M. With 290bhp and slightly more than 1300kg it might give the M a run for its money! If im not mistaken it also comes with a limited slip diff right?
 
ga41 said:
It looks very nice. I always liked the Solstice and its Saturn Sky sister. We also get it in Europe as the Opel GT.

I'd love to hear your driving impressions compared to the M. With 290bhp and slightly more than 1300kg it might give the M a run for its money! If im not mistaken it also comes with a limited slip diff right?
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Part of the appeal was that, like my M, it's got a 3.91 final drive and a LSD, an intriguing similarity. My early impressions are that its a nice car, but coarser and less refined that the BMW; not unexpected as it was $15k less when both were built. The gearing selection is a bit off for my tastes - 2nd's a bit long; it should be as fast as my M Coupe from 0-60 with its weight and torque. Still quite fun, though. So I've got an out-of-production M Coupe and an out-of-production Solstice; apparently for me to like a car, the company has to stop making them. ;)
 
ga41 said:
It looks very nice. I always liked the Solstice and its Saturn Sky sister. We also get it in Europe as the Opel GT.
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Yes. I saw the Opel version at a Breakfast Club meet in the UK in 2008. Nice. :thumbsup:

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Much prefer the styling on the Opel version if I'm honest, despite not being a fan of the colour.

But sounds like an interesting car :)
 
I like both, but prefer the Sky/GT as well, especially the wheels, but the M Coupe has enough angles for any two cars; I wanted a smoother, slippery shape this time around.
 
srhutch said:
that makes life difficult in the mornings, do I take the ///M or the ///M :D
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Not so difficult, as the Z3 is the non-M version. Right now, I tend to use the Z3 as a commuter/errand-runner and the Z4MC for fun. Switching cars is like having a time machine :lol:
 
Ah I never even thought of that. In the UK the coupe only came as the ///M, although in Europe they had the 3.0 ones too.
 
On this side of the pond it was introduced in 1999 with the a 2.8 and an M version as will with 240 HP. In 2001 the non-M coupe got the 3.0 engine and the M got the S54 engine with 315 HP. Production end in 2002 and in 2003 the Z4 was introduced.
 
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