Join Pouria, automotive designer and creator of The Sunday Club as we take a look at some of the coolest cars in the world, from a designer's perspective.
Convertible ZHP were available in 2004-2005-2006 only. The RPM cluster of the ZHP has three little red lines added to show that the maximum red line has been increased by 300 rpm.
I just picked up a mint red Solstice GXP with a RPM Motorsports stage 2 tune...and It is crazy fast...handles as good as the best handling car I have ever owned (92 Dodge Stealth), and with the top down, well...its a feeling that is not to be missed especially with that 320 HP pushing you down the road....
I drove my Pontiac Solstice GXP for 35 hours straight last month and I don't have the same issue with you jumping up and down on bad bumps and my front end doesn't bounced like yours on the video. Are you sure your suspensions are ok?
Did you find a gm dealer who can do the gmpp tune? I know they have to replace the map sensors and pigtail; then flash the ecu, but I just wanted to know how easy it was to get it done where the cars so old now.
I took 3 of these in as trade-ins. Here are my 10 takeaways from spending time with them... 1. They are a good example of a personal luxury coupe. 2. the problem with that is that most folks have moved on from wanting that. 3. there is something great about driving a V8 luxury cocoon that isolates you from the world while simultaneously rushing you through it, if you so desire. And this Lexus does that wonderfully. 4 the engine sounds really really good, but only up to a point. It's got good character, good power generally, and revs up decently for a V8 (and unlike the newer turbo v8 on the C63, you can rev it in a parking lot and it doesn't sound neutered) ... but... 5. because Lexus coupes are so rare, people understand that it's the "AMG" or "BMW-M car" of the Lexus brand so people often expect it to have the super high revving V10 of the LFA; which, in comparison, makes this quiet v8 seem even more lackluster, by comparison. 6. It's really small/cramped inside. Yes, a BMW 4 series or C-Class coupe aren't much bigger, but they somehow don't SEEM as constricting in size from the driver’s seat as this Lexus does. 7. Lexus always has the best leather in the industry, regardless of real/ fake or premium/standard arguments. But honestly, there are still certain controls and touch points in the car that remind you its from the company that makes your grandma's Camry and that nasty little "Prius" thing you had to get Ubered in. 8. For all that the car does right at times, the personality isn't quite front and centered enough for the type of people this car was being marketed at. That's the real failure of the product and the sales reflect that. It's nothing against the overall luxury, power, or refinement of the product, but this Lexus seems to keep to itself too much; and revert to feeling less like a driver's car -- and more like a mixed bag of Toyota/Lexus components that (as a whole) travel down the road in the same direction, but never seem to come together to transcend beyond the sum of the parts into any kind of connected, holistic driving experience. 9. They are expensive. The price with even limited options is very high -- not just compared to the competition, but for what ends up feeling like a super luxurious -but cramped- Corolla-sized coupe with 400-something horsepower. 10. If you put all this together, it's easy to see how, for the people who COULD get past all these shortcomings; the upsides to tying up this much money on a car don't last forever and most people end up trading out of these things by 40-60k miles. -- and often for something with a more overt personality (C63, Giulia, or even random performance SUVs sometimes). So yeah, a lot of really nice things going on with the RC-F, but in summary, it's always a car you finish driving but don't feel the need to look back at with excitement after you get where you're going in the way that true driver's cars make you just want to keep driving them or keep staring at them. Great for people who end up showing off on the boulevard, not enough connection for people who drive in manual mode on a regular basis
Careful closing the hood with the doors open. Not recommended. Fun cars. Stock they have enough guts to be interesting. Bear in mind that the GXP makes about the same power as many 'fast' cars from the '60s: bhp vs gross hp ratings for the skeptical on that one. With the roof up they strike me as prototype sportscars from the '60s. Fun fact: air conditioning was not standard in these cars, but most have it. My first one was a silver 07 GXP, bought it new off the lot, Ricky Smith Pontiac, Massachusetts.
They make MUCH better power to weight ratings than almost anything from the 60s...there wasnt many muscle cars that weighed 2900 lbs. Mine is a GXP with a stage 2 tune...estimating the HP at 320 hp divided into 2900 pounds =9 HP/Lb ..For comparison, a 71 Cuda with a 440 was rated at 375 HP, and about 330 net HP. Divided by the weight (3500 lbs ) =10.6, so this little car has it beat. In fact only a hand full of specially tuned cars would be there with it, like a 426 Hemi or 440 six pack or nicely massaged 427 Vette.
@@johnnyzee383 my first GXP had the GMPP tune and it was close to the power to weight on a '12 LS3 Camaro. That Sol GXP had the 290 bhp/340 ft-lb GM tune. My current one is an '08 with no tune. I was tempted to go LS2 with it. But 100% factory, it would hold it's own easily against my other sportscar- a 1966 smallblock Sting Ray. I'm going to get into that engine this spring, I think . But you know, for 7 grand I can get a 377 stroker that makes more hp than the 427s that were offered in vettes in '67! I like building engines but to build one from nothing would cost me almost 6K. A roller cam stroker for 7K? From a reputable builder? Damn that's sexy. Love my sol GXP though. I'm trying like hell to keep it but the '66 is taking up my free time.
@@bbb462cid Ya, the one I just bought has the RPM Motorsports stage 2 tune with high flow cat..I was talking to them and they think its around 320 HP at the rear wheels...not sure about that but man does this thing pull...Its almost as fast as my 71 Roadrunner 383 with indy cyl heads..that car did a best of 12.5 @106 mph but was a relatively mild motor...Im thinking this car is good for high 13 sec quarters at about 101-103 MPH.
Basically calling the guy stupid. Suggested "cool video, just wish I could have heard the engine better while rowing through the gears". Both get the message across, one way comes across as imitating a jerk.
37mpg is way in excess of stated economy even with the GMPP upgrade to 290 bhp/340 ft-lbs. I have owned both a stock GXP and one with the GMPP upgrade and I saw 32 mpg max with the GMPP tune, about 30 without,
OEM equipment is always capable of more than what the manufacturer programs is to do. These tunes let you extract more of the performance potential that the car already has.
Because people want to go faster haha! And it voids the warranty because when the car makes more power than it's meant to make, the mechanical elements are worn down faster than they're supposed to. Basically any mechanical or computer modification voids the warranty.
2017 330i also has same B 48 engine as this car. They introduced the LCI update in 2014-2015 and then introduce the b48 engine replacing the N20 in 2016 I believe
I'm on my 3rd Saturn Sky, my first Sky was a baseline then I got a Redline, finally got the perfect Redline with only 7,362 miles on the odometer. I was in the right place at the right time. The Turbo Engine screams to go faster. The 18inch tires takes the turns like its on rails, super fun to drive especially with the top down. The aggressive lines on my Redline sets it apart and was ahead of its time.
