Kappa was

General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...

subcompact Subcompact car is a North American classification for cars smaller than a compact car. It is broadly equivalent to the B-segment (Europe), supermini (Great Britain) or A0-class (China) classifications. According to the U.S. Environmental Prote ...

rear-wheel drive Rear-wheel drive (RWD) is a form of engine and transmission layout used in motor vehicles, in which the engine drives the rear wheels only. Until the late 20th century, rear-wheel drive was the most common configuration for cars. Most rear-wheel ...

automobile platform A car platform is a shared set of common design, engineering, and production efforts, as well as major components, over a number of outwardly distinct models and even types of cars, often from different, but somewhat related, marques. It is pract ...

for roadster applications. The architecture debuted in the 2006

Pontiac Solstice The Pontiac Solstice is a sports car that was produced by Pontiac. 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 ...

and 2007

Saturn Sky 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 ...

, and ended production in 2009. These vehicles generally have a "M" in the fourth digit of their VIN. Kappa uses an

independent suspension Independent suspension is any automobile suspension system that allows each wheel on the same axle to move vertically (i.e. reacting to a bump on the road) independently of the others. This is contrasted with a beam axle or deDion axle system in w ...

, short-long arm type, in front and rear. The

Ecotec Ecotec (capitalized ECOTEC, from 'Emissions Control Optimization TEChnology') is a General Motors (GM) and Opel Automobile GmbH (Opel) trademark that refers to a series of emissions technologies that were implemented throughout a range of GM engines ...

engine is widely used, as is a 5-speed

manual transmission A manual transmission (MT), also known as manual gearbox, standard transmission (in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States), or stick shift (in the United States), is a multi-speed motor vehicle transmission (mechanics), transmission ...

. A 5-speed automatic has been available since 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 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 Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), a letter of the Greek alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * D (NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta") * Delta Air Lines, US * Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19 Delta may also re ...

and

Epsilon Epsilon (, ; uppercase , lowercase or lunate ; el, έψιλον) is the fifth letter of the Greek alphabet, corresponding phonetically to a mid front unrounded vowel or . In the system of Greek numerals it also has the value five. It was der ...

. 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 Sigma (; uppercase Σ, lowercase σ, lowercase in word-final position ς; grc-gre, σίγμα) is the eighteenth letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 200. In general mathematics, uppercase Σ is used as ...

, 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

. It has also been stated by GM representatives that this platform was only designed to be left-hand drive. 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

. 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 turbo-engined Sky with Opel badging, under the name

Opel GT 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. The first generation Opel GT (1968 –1973) debuted as a styling exercise in 1965 at the Pa ...

. A GM Korea version of that variant was also produced under the name Daewoo G2x. 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 Chevrolet Nomad is a nameplate used by Chevrolet in North America from the 1950s to the 1970s, applied largely to Station wagon, station wagons. Three different Nomads were produced as a distinct model line, with Chevrolet subsequently using the n ...

. All three cars were received reasonably well, but were not nearly as embraced as the original Solstice Concept. 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 Holden, formerly known as General Motors-Holden, was an Australian subsidiary company of General Motors. It was an Australian automobile manufacturer, importer, and exporter which sold cars under its own marque in Australia. In its last thre ...

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." A hardtop coupe version of the Pontiac Solstice was produced for the 2009–2010 model years. Kappa production ended with General Motors'

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...

in July 2009. 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.

Shared components

The Kappa architecture uses major components from nearly every GM division and modern platform: * The rear axle and differential are from the Sigma-based

Cadillac CTS The Cadillac CTS is an executive car that was manufactured and marketed by General Motors from 2003 until 2019 across three generations. Historically, it was priced similarly to cars on the compact luxury spectrum; but it has always been size ...

* The Solstice's interior storage bin is from the Y-body

Cadillac XLR The Cadillac XLR is a front-engine, rear-drive, two passenger roadster manufactured and marketed by Cadillac from 2003 to 2009 across a single generation — and noted for its power retractable hardtop, Bulgari designed interior instruments ...

* The passenger-side airbag, steering column, and exterior and interior door handles are from the Delta-based

Chevrolet Cobalt The Chevrolet Cobalt is a compact car introduced by Chevrolet in 2004 for the 2005 model year. The Cobalt replaced both the Cavalier and the Toyota-based Geo/Chevrolet Prizm as Chevrolet's compact car. The Cobalt was available as both a coupe a ...

Pontiac G5 The Chevrolet Cobalt is a compact car introduced by Chevrolet in 2004 for the 2005 model year. The Cobalt replaced both the Cavalier and the Toyota-based Geo/Chevrolet Prizm as Chevrolet's compact car. The Cobalt was available as both a coupe a ...

* The Solstice's backup lights are from the

GMT360 GMT 360 is a vehicle platform that was manufactured by General Motors from the 2002 and 2009 model years. Designed primarily for SUVs, the GMT360 architecture served as the third generation of mid-size SUVs produced by GM. Directly succeeding i ...

GMC Envoy The GMC Envoy is a mid-size SUV, manufactured and marketed by General Motors for model years 1998-2009 over two generations. Adopting a nameplate used by GM Canada, the Envoy was a rebadged variant of the Chevrolet TrailBlazer, Oldsmobile Brava ...

* The heating, ventilating, and air conditioning modules are from the

Hummer H3 The Hummer H3 is an off-road vehicle that was produced from 2005 to 2010 by General Motors. The smallest model of the Hummer lineup, it was offered as a 5-door SUV or a 4-door pickup truck known as the H3T. Unlike the larger H1 and H2 models, t ...

* The Solstice's front fog lamp assembly is from the

W-body The W-platform (also known as the W-body) was a General Motors automobile platform which underpinned both mid size and full-size front-wheel drive cars. Originally code named GM10, it began development in 1982 under Chairman Roger B. Smith an ...

Pontiac Grand Prix The Grand Prix is a line of automobiles produced by the Pontiac Division of General Motors from 1962 until 2002 for coupes and 1989–2008 for sedans. First introduced as a full-size performance coupe for the 1962 model year, the model varied ...

* The Solstice's steering wheel is from the Delta-based

* The 2.4 L Ecotec engine is shared with the Delta-based

Saturn Ion The Saturn Ion is a compact car sold by Saturn between the 2003 and 2007 model years. It used the GM Delta platform. The Ion replaced the Saturn S-Series in 2002, and was replaced by the new Saturn Astra in 2008. Production of the Ion ended on Ma ...

Pontiac G6 The Pontiac G6 is a mid-size car that was produced by General Motors under the Pontiac brand. It was introduced in 2004 for the 2005 model year to replace the Grand Am. The G6 shared the GM Epsilon platform with the Chevrolet Malibu, Saab 9-3 ...

, and

Chevrolet HHR The Chevrolet HHR (an initialism for Heritage High Roof) is a retro-styled, high-roofed, five-door, five-passenger, front-wheel drive crossover designed by Bryan Nesbitt and launched by the American automaker Chevrolet at the 2005 Los Angeles A ...

* The five-speed manual transmission is from the

GMC Canyon GMC may refer to: Government India * Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation, in Gujarat * Gobichettipalayam Municipal Corporation, in Tamil Nadu * Guntur Municipal Corporation, in Andhra Pradesh * Guwahati Municipal Corporation, in Assam * Gwalior M ...

, and

Chevrolet Colorado The Chevrolet Colorado, and its counterpart, the GMC Canyon, are series of compact and later mid-sized pickup trucks marketed by American automaker General Motors. They were introduced in 2004 to replace the Chevrolet S-10 and GMC S-15/Sonoma com ...

* The five-speed automatic is from the

STS STS, or sts, may refer to: Medicine * Secondary traumatic stress, a condition which leads to a diminished ability to empathize * Sequence-tagged site, a gene-reference in genomics * Soft-tissue sarcoma * Staurosporine, an antibiotic * STS (gen ...

, and SRX * The Sky's backup light is shared with the first generation

Chevrolet Volt The Chevrolet Volt is a plug-in hybrid manufactured by General Motors, also marketed in rebadged variants as the Holden Volt in Australia and New Zealand and the Buick Velite 5 in China, and with a different fascia as the Vauxhall Ampera in t ...

Vehicles

Vehicles based on this platform: *

Daewoo Daewoo ( ; Hangul: , Hanja: , ; literally "great universe" and a portmanteau of "dae" meaning great, and the given name of founder and chairman Kim Woo-choong) also known as the Daewoo Group, was a major South Korean chaebol (type of conglomerat ...

G2X * Tauro Sport Auto V8 Spider Concept vehicles based on this platform: * Breckland Beira *

Saturn Curve The Saturn Curve was a roadster concept by Saturn designed by Michael Mauer who was the former head of design at Saab Automobile. It was shown at the 2004 North American International Auto Show along with the Saturn Sky concept. This project ...

* Saab Sonnett *

Vauxhall Vauxhall ( ) is a district in South West London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. Vauxhall was part of Surrey until 1889 when the County of London was created. Named after a medieval manor, "Fox Hall", it became well known for ...

VX Lightning

References

External links

Forum for the GM Kappa Platform based cars; Pontiac Solstice, Saturn Sky, Opel GT & Daewoo G2X

{{General Motors platforms General Motors platforms, Kappa