Filed under: Aftermarket, Tuners, Convertibles, Etc., Pontiac
Solstice F430: Abomination or Pontiac perfected?
click above to view more images of the Solstice F430
There's a pretty healthy argument to be made for leaving the styling of your Pontiac Solstice alone. It did end up in production virtually off the show floor, as evidenced by the cockpit's spaciousness and spectacular materials (hint: saracasm). But there's always at least one person who's not content to leave well enough alone. Luckily, Mr. Paul MadMods seems to have what's known in the biz as mad skillz. What that means is he has a way of working with his hands in a painstaking manner to turn out customized cars that don't scream "HACK JOB!"
Aesthetics, however, are another whole thing, and we're sure that this choice of colors and body mods won't sit well with everyone, but you have to give the guy credit, it's all nicely done. We also have to give props for not creating a full-on Ferrari replica. Paul states that his intent was just to incorporate cool cues from cars that he sees. Thus, his Solstice wears an F430 nose, Porsche Cayman side intakes serving as extractors in the front quarters, tons of custom electronics and a snarling custom turbo installation, too. It's pretty amazing to see how much like a kit car the Solstice actually is. It's not the most comfortable little mini-'Vette, but it's well engineered platform-wise. After seeing how easily the Solstice takes to wrenching, we want one of our own to trick out. When we need an F430 nose, we know who to call.
Thanks for the tip, Aman!
[Source: CarDomain via KitCarsForum]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
AMcA 5:59PM (12/28/2007)
In a word: HIDEOUS.
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Zane 6:01PM (12/28/2007)
Wow .. the F430, Cayman, 911, Solstice and Cayenne went to an orgy.
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EJ25RUN 6:03PM (12/28/2007)
piss on it *twice*
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Reality Check 6:11PM (12/28/2007)
Everyone has their own taste but the interior is just bad taste...... The rest of it looks like most modern kits, more bad then good.
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K Prasad 6:13PM (12/28/2007)
this is the last time I try eating and reading autoblog at the same time
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LX builder 6:27PM (12/28/2007)
Oh my God! what did they do to that poor car.
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WillDaThrill 6:44PM (12/28/2007)
First mistake....Chrome Yellow. Need to give it ten years to die out and become popular again. I'm no body mod major, but damn, he couldn't get those seams to marry-up a little better. Those rims *swallows own vomit* aweful.
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Eric 6:49PM (12/28/2007)
Ugly, and they need to fire whoever it is that mixed their paint. None of the new pieces match the original color.
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wiggyx 7:00PM (12/28/2007)
I would hardly call this mod "nicely done". The colors clearly don't match up, the part breaks look really inconsistent (read: huge gaps and misaligned), and the interior looks dopey. What's with the gauge pod on the passenger side with the hokey tacked on pod? Barf.
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R 7:15PM (12/28/2007)
Well, at least it's relatively fast in a straight line.
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nate_687 7:28PM (12/28/2007)
It is just Terrible. Take a look at pictures 3 and 4, the body lines have crazy gaps where the fender and the extractor meet. Not to mention the side skirt looks terrible and the color is off. Completely hideous.
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3seriesisking 7:49PM (12/28/2007)
Agreed. I can't quite stand to look at it.
SPF 8:00PM (12/28/2007)
This car will get rid some "Eating my hamburger+fries and will get to my sundae later while I'm driving" people.
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Cypher09 8:03PM (12/28/2007)
Poor car.
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Dave 8:08PM (12/28/2007)
If anything, the Solstice is overstyled to begin with.
This is awful.
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Corey 8:27PM (12/28/2007)
Someone should be shot for this.
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madmods 8:51PM (12/28/2007)
I own the car, and you are looking at very old pictures.
The car was resprayed
in october. I have just not posted any new pics. There have been a number of changes done as I have picked up new sponsors for the new HIN car show season. I have continued working on getting more HP from the motor. I should be at about 350 hp at the moment. I have been having fun killing 350z's and porsches in my area. If you non-solstice guys see a yellow blur, its probably me.
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Bling Bling Boy 9:57PM (12/28/2007)
Ha! I own a Z car and I still say that Soltice looks like a "cheese burger"...lol
J/K man...I think the exterior is baddass, but the interior is, well _____ *ahem*..
and how in the world were you able to get over 300hp out of a four banger?
DS 12:13AM (12/29/2007)
@bling bling boy
Out of the ecotec engine, 300 hp is modest with modding
you can EASILY get them up to 500 hp
cowboy bob 8:06AM (12/29/2007)
I like the car. This forum is unlikely to complement anyones homebuilt efforts as most people here are only computer geeks and don't know a wrench from a prybar. I have built hotrods for 50 years, and appreciate the stylistic independance, and satisfaction of having "made my own". I think the front styling of the car is a great improvement from the stock Solstice, and the mechanical upgrades certainly will improve what is marginal performance as manufactured. Hats off to you, and tell the brats to f*** off.