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Kappa was General Motors' subcompact rear-wheel drive automobile platform for roadster applications. The architecture debuted in the 2006 Pontiac Solstice and 2007 Saturn Sky, and ended production in 2009. These vehicles generally have a "M" in the fourth digit of their VIN.
Kappa uses an independent suspension, short-long arm type, in front and rear. The Ecotec engine is widely used, as is a 5-speed manual transmission. A 5-speed automatic was available from January 2006.
In 2002, the Pontiac Solstice Concept was shown in two forms: a drivable roadster convertible, and a design study of a fastback coupe.
The Pontiac Solstice was received very well[ clarification needed ] at the 2002 NAIAS. The drivable roadster concept car shown had been cobbled together from many different components, using a heavily modified portion of the Delta and Epsilon. The thinking was that this architecture might be heavily modified and used to produce the Solstice in the near future.
It is speculated that when General Motors decided to try to produce the Solstice as a highly styled, low-cost, low-volume niche vehicle for enthusiasts, it became apparent that there were no existing platforms that could be used to achieve the needs of a modern compact rear wheel drive roadster.
Therefore, the Kappa platform was developed to provide the necessary structure for a two-seat, rear-wheel-drive convertible. It features hydro-formed rails and a tunnel structure derived from the Corvette architecture and Sigma, and is designed for a short-long-arm suspension for the front and rear. It features rear wheel drive, longitudinal-mounted transmission and front-mid engine.
It has been stated by GM that the platform has only been designed to accommodate a single engine: the Ecotec. It has also been stated by GM representatives that this platform was only designed to be left-hand drive.[ citation needed ] However, there are aftermarket tuners that have already accomplished non-trivial engine transplants in Solstices.
Since the Solstice, GM has designed another roadster that looks substantially different, but shares the same underlying Kappa platform: the Saturn Sky. The Saturn Sky was styled after the pattern of the Vauxhall VX Lightning design. There is a European version built on the same platform, essentially a Sky Red Line model with Opel badging, EU spec mirrors and tail lights, and culturally appropriate door implememts, reviving the name of Opel GT. [1] A GM Korea version of that variant was also produced under the name Daewoo G2X. [2]
Three other concept vehicles were built on the initial Kappa platform, and shown at the 2004 NAIAS: The Vauxhall VX Lightning, The Saturn Curve and Chevrolet Nomad. All three cars were received reasonably well,[ clarification needed ] but were not nearly as embraced as the original Solstice Concept.[ citation needed ]
The original 2003 Vauxhall VX Lightning Concept is the same size as the original Solstice Concept, and pieced together in the same manner as the 2002 Solstice Concept, and had been shown in Europe several months earlier, before the Kappa platform had been finalized and named (debuting approximately mid-May 2003, for Vauxhall's centenary celebration). The Vauxhall VX Lightning is the styling pattern after which the appearance of the Saturn Sky is based. When the Vauxhall VX was shown at the 2004 NAIAS, the Lightning part of the name was dropped and the vehicle referred to in the literature at the show as merely the "Vauxhall VX".
The Saturn Curve and the Chevrolet Nomad concept cars were built on "modified" versions of the Kappa platform, and exhibited 12 inches longer wheelbases, and 2+2 seating.
Another concept car, built by Holden and called the Torana TT36, was rumored to have started as a Kappa-based car with a twin-turbocharged V6, but the modifications necessary to accommodate the engine, transmission, and general vehicle size made it necessary to refer to the platform as "based on architecture similar to the Kappa and the Corvette."[ citation needed ]
A hardtop coupe version of the Pontiac Solstice was produced for the 2009–2010 model years. Kappa production ended with General Motors' bankruptcy in July 2010.
Spanish car maker Tauro used Solstices to market their version called Tauro V8. There is a misconception that people tend to believe that this company purchased the Kappa platform, but in reality they were conversions of existing cars.
The Kappa architecture uses major components from nearly every GM division and modern platform:
Vehicles based on this platform:
Concept vehicles based on this platform:
The Saturn Corporation, also known as Saturn LLC, was an American automobile manufacturer, a registered trademark established on January 7, 1985, as a subsidiary of General Motors. The company was an attempt by GM to compete directly with Japanese imports and transplants, initially in the US compact car market. The company was known for its 'no-haggle' sales technique.
GM Korea Company is the South Korean subsidiary of multinational corporation General Motors and the third largest automobile manufacturer in South Korea. GM Korea's roots go back to the former Daewoo Motors vehicle brand, which was split from its parent company, Daewoo, in 2002. In addition to importing vehicles for sale into South Korea, the company also operates three manufacturing facilities producing vehicles for the domestic market and for export. The company also operates GM Technical Center Korea, a design, engineering, research & development facility for various GM products, primarily small-size cars.
The Pontiac Solstice is a sports car that was produced by Pontiac from 2005 to 2010. Introduced at the 2004 North American International Auto Show, the Solstice roadster began production in Wilmington, Delaware, starting in mid-2005 for the 2006 model year. It is powered by a naturally aspirated 2.4 L I4 engine, producing 177 hp (132 kW) and 166 lb⋅ft (225 N⋅m) of torque. The exterior styling of the production Solstice is similar to that of the 2002 Solstice concept that preceded it. Production of the Solstice was to be running before summer 2005, but delays at the Wilmington plant pushed volume production to the fourth quarter. The new hardtop targa top 2009 model was announced in mid-2008. The Solstice uses the GM Kappa platform, which also underpins the Saturn Sky, Opel GT, and Daewoo G2X. It was the brand's first two-seater since the Pontiac Fiero was discontinued in 1988.
Delta was a General Motors compact front-wheel drive automobile and crossover SUV platform, originally developed by Opel Group. Delta was a successor to the Opel T platform; it also replaced J platform and the Z platform used by the Saturn S-Series. The platform debuted in the 2003 Saturn Ion. Vehicles of this platform generally carry the letter "A" in the fourth character of their VINs.
Epsilon is General Motors' mid-size front-wheel drive automobile platform. The architecture was a multi-division project of GM North America, Opel and Saab, and debuted in the 2002 Opel Vectra and 2003 Saab 9-3. Since this platform falls squarely in the center of the worldwide automobile market, GM plans to produce a great many Epsilon vehicles with over a dozen variations. As of 2005, it was GM's highest volume worldwide platform. Even after the dissolution of the GM/Fiat partnership, both companies retain the rights to continue developing Epsilon-derived models.
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Gamma is General Motors' global subcompact front-wheel drive automobile platform, first used in the 2000 Opel Corsa C.
The Opel Speedster is a mid-engined, targa-topped, two-seat sports car produced by German automaker Opel from July 2000 to July 2005. It was built in both RHD and LHD versions at the Lotus Cars plant in Hethel, Norfolk, England. It was presented at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1999 and went into full production the following year.
Theta is General Motors' automobile platform for compact/mid-size crossover SUVs. The architecture debuted in 2002 with the Saturn Vue and was later used for the Chevrolet Equinox and Captiva and similar models.
Getrag, stylized as GETRAG, was a major supplier of transmission systems for passenger cars and commercial vehicles. The company was founded on 1 May 1935, in Ludwigsburg, Germany, by Hermann Hagenmeyer; as the Getriebe und Zahnradfabrik Hermann Hagenmeyer GmbH & Cie KG.
The Saturn Sky is a roadster that was produced by Saturn, and was initially released in the first quarter of 2006 as a 2007 model. It uses the Kappa automobile platform shared with the Pontiac Solstice. The Sky concept was shown at the 2005 North American International Auto Show, with the production version following at the 2006 show. It was built at GM's Wilmington Assembly plant in Wilmington, Delaware, alongside the Solstice. The Sky featured 18-inch (457 mm) wheels and a 2.4 L Ecotec LE5 inline-four engine with direct injection and variable valve timing that produced 177 hp (132 kW), a new 2.0-litre turbocharged direct injected inline-four engine also featuring VVT that made 260 hp (194 kW) and 260 lb⋅ft. An optional dealer-installed MAP sensor and ECM flash upgrade kit was also available for the 2.0 model, making 290 hp (216 kW) and 340 lb⋅ft on manual transmission models and 290 hp and 325 lb⋅ft on automatic transmission models. Both five-speed manual and automatic transmissions were available.
The Opel GT is a front-engine, rear-drive two-seat sports car manufactured and marketed by Opel in two generations separated by a 34-year hiatus.
Wilmington Assembly was a General Motors automobile factory in Wilmington, Delaware. The 3,200,000-square-foot (300,000 m2) factory opened in 1947, and produced cars for GM's Chevrolet, Pontiac, Saturn, Opel, Buick and Daewoo brands during its operation. GM closed the plant on July 28, 2009.
The Chevrolet Cobalt SS comprises three sport compact versions of the Chevrolet Cobalt that were built on the General Motors Delta platform at Lordstown Assembly in Ohio, United States. The three versions included two forced induction inline-four Ecotec engines and a third naturally aspirated engine that was later called the Cobalt Sport. SS is an abbreviation of Super Sport, a historic moniker used by Chevrolet to denote high performance upgrades that meet certain criteria.
The 4T40-E and 4T45-E are a series of automatic transaxles from General Motors. Designed for transverse engine configurations, the series includes 4 forward gears. The 4Txx family replaced the Turbo-Hydramatic 125 transverse three speed automatic introduced in 1980.
The V platform is a rear-wheel drive automobile platform that underpinned various General Motors (GM) vehicles from 1966 through to its final discontinuation in 2007. The V platform was developed in the 1960s by the German subsidiary of GM, Opel, and underpinned vehicles competing in the European E-segment, with the Opel Rekord and Opel Omega being its two most prolific nameplates.
General Motors New Zealand Limited, formerly Holden New Zealand Limited, is a subsidiary of General Motors that distributes GM' motor vehicles, engines, components and parts in New Zealand.
General Motors reused the T-body designation, beginning in 1979 with the front-wheel drive Opel Kadett D and the Vauxhall Astra Mk I. This was part of a global strategy by GM to introduce a new front-wheel drive architecture for its sub-compact models, and would be further developed into the J-body platform which would cover the compact size segment.