For $750, you can get a Trifecta tune for these. 340hp on 93 octane. I bet probably 380 on E85. Insane even in today's standard for this tiny car. Back in the 2007-2009, you can get a Trifecta tune and it still would be under cover by warranty too! Making this car a beast back then.
@@BN99239 actually General Motors had a tune it was the GMPP tune 290HP, 340PFT 5 speed manual transmission. The automatic transmission with the GMPP tune, 290HP, 325PFT. If you get the trifecta tune, which I have on my 2008 Pontiac solstice GXP, controlled by the cruise control on and off. This tune is aftermarket, no way connected to General Motors. GM never had a warranty for the Trifecta performance tune, warranty was only good for the GMPP tune. The trifecta performance tune that's on my car, cost $400.00. The GMPP tune cost $1,200, also requires changing out sensors.
Same. Love the used car content from Harrison auto sales. With the economy and crazy new car prices, I see this channel thriving with more of these reviews
Had an 07 GXP, seriously underrated car. GM offered a performance tune that did not void the factory warranty that bumped power to 290hp/340tq (manual only, auto was rated less) that really woke the car up (also added no lift shift). The LNF was a very high tech engine for it's time that for some reason got largely overlooked.
😆 Right, the Sky was so much better. That's why Pontiac sold twice as many Solstices. At least the Pontiac had a distinct look.... The Sky was nothing more than a Corvette clone.
I remember when these came out during my time in GM Technical College. I thought they were so cool. I thought of them as budget corvettes due to the clam hood and high performance variants. This is the GM I remember. The GM that brought the daring SSR, HHR, Solstice, and SKY designs.
I wonder if that might be a new Avenue for you to explore on your Channel reviewing older cars from the 90s and 00s when available and capturing some of the Nostalgia that some of us remember from simpler times
I had a 2009 Cobalt SS with this motor. With a downpipe and a custom tune it was putting down ~350WHP/WTQ. Thing was an absolute monster (with a plastic interior). The cars I’d embarrass in a roll race were hilarious. Fastest car I’ve ever owned.
I have a 2008 Sky Redline with twin turbos customized by its original owner, and let me say, this car is amazingly underrated! Stunningly beautiful and excellent to drive!
Under appreciated is an understatement ! Honestly Matt enjoy the older reviews , but I think you should dip into modified car reviews similar in a sense to one takes ! I’m sure with your fan base you could get some people with some quirky stuff ! Keep up the great work
Love these older car reviews! If you run across a 2008 Challenger SRT8 First Edition, I would love to see that! The first year of the Challenger comeback.
I think you hit the nail on the head. The Sky is better looking, and they can be tuned to 300 hp pretty easily. I am surprised by how little interest they garner on the used market, given that they are rear-drive, have an available manual, and are fairly comfy. The only major drawback is the lack of storage space.
Have you also seen the rare Solstice coupe that they made only 1266 coupes? I love the Sky but mate the Solstice coupe looks outrageous gorgeous than the sky and I own a base coupe. First coupe in the UK 🇬🇧 and gets attention than some super cars. I always need to prepare myself anytime I stopped whether in a gas station or anywhere. People guessing is it a TVR, Porsche, Aston Martin, Ferrari or Jaguar F-Type. Now my next one will be a Sky.
Matt! I was just thinking about you this morning, wondering how you were making out since the Bullitt’s departure. After letting go of my 2010 Camaro SS/RS for reasons similar to yours, I ended up going through cheaper, yet fun cars, ending up with a Solstice GXP (manual). The Camaro was my unicorn, but I’m having a blast with the roadster. 75% of the fun for 25% of the cost. Keep the content coming! I think your acceleration clips was what birthed the “reaction video” that so many creators are now known for. You’re a pioneer, sir! Cheers to your success.
I’m in the UK 🇬🇧 and owns one of these super rare hardtop Solstice even though is an auto base but will never sell it. Such a lil fun car that gets attention than many supercars.
Interesting that these (apparently) were something of a follow on from Europe’s earlier Opel/Vauxhall VX220s but they didn’t sell these here in the UK. You can see the styling cues from the older models more than the with the Solstice.
I’ve always loved the Sky it’s such a beautiful car. But I can tell you Matt that you’d be very proud of the investment I recently made. Just a couple weeks ago I bought myself an 03 Bugeye WRX Wagon completely stock. It’s an automatic with a little over 200k mileage. But it’s been very well taken care of the person I got it from had solid maintenance records and even came with a full set of snow tires and wheels. Mechanical the only thing it needs is the brakes serviced before winter comes. And the best part is I bought it cash in hand for $5k. $5k for a super clean very well maintained WRX wagon that’s completely unmolested with aftermarket.
Nice review Matt. How are you doing? Your video on your Mustang was tough to watch. I am glad to see you putting out content and doing what you love to do. Your reviews have always been some of my favorites! Keep up the good work. ✊
I still own a Solstice GXP. Love it. The base models are much more sporty cruisers but the turbos are actually nice sports cars. Unfortunately these cars just happened to be released at the worse time possible. I'm pretty certain had GM not had to go through their restructuring during the recession, these cars would have continued to be a success. Sadly the feds forced GM to shut down Pontiac, which GM tried to fight to keep. I think they did brielfly consider a Chevy version (Skyline rebadged) once they realized Pontiac and Saturn weren't going to survive restructuring after bankruptcy. I can only imagine how they could have evolved these cars.
It’s too late for me to watch now Matt (and it’s west coast time 😂) but, tomorrow! This sooo feels like your old stuff, you said one of your goals for the year was to review more affordable sports cars like your early days, please, keep trying with that! That’s a great objective. You are like the only one with a good Impala SS video and it paid off - your strategy should be to beat Doug to these weird cars, he didn’t do an Impala SS & you got 100k views! You paved the way to success without press cars, I know it was an easier time, there’s more to it than that, but, please just think about it, that’s all I ask - your unique value proposition, could be slowly pivoting to these weird old cool cars. Malibu SS, Forester XT, Audi TT, Grand Cherokee 5.9 Limited, TL and TL Type S, Charger Super Bee, stuff that you might find out in Ohio/KY/PA. I realize these cars don’t grow on trees, I don’t mean to say to bail on the press cars altogether, but..see what you can do! Think about it! No one else “big” is covering these affordable weird, but cool cars. They’re all from your era, so you can give context to why they were cool back in the day, and you can offer high quality, comprehensive coverage on them. Figure out what Doug hasn’t done, and beat him to them! Impala SS this shit!! You selling the Bullitt shows me you truly want to succeed - you CAN do this. But, it might take some pivoting. I hope you think about it!
I'm definitely working hard to work in more of the cool used cars whenever I get the opportunity. Finding the right cars and the free time are the hardest parts. But it's been a goal of mine for the past year or so because I totally agree that nobody else is really doing this and I think there's a ton of potential in it.
Great cars. I own two, the base in white (5-speed manual) the Redline in midnight blue (automatic). Im now looking for the Redline in a 5-speed. I love driving these cars!!
So Pumped to see this car get some love ... And they look absolutely killer swapping out the wheels and flushing out the fitment... And purging the plasichrome. But for a miner investment these look absolutely killer. Just Google some custom builds on these. Owned one Pre-Kids and sold it running with 160k miles They're grown up a bit now and got myself the Carbon Flash Edition with 19k miles I'm going to keep as my last Gasoline car probably
These Sky Redlines and Solstice GXP are definitely underappreciated. I remember being in my teenage years reading about Bob Lutz being a big supporter getting the Solstice / Sky developed and built. Thanks for reviewing this, Matt.
@@SwiftMCy Sky gang! 🙌🏽 Ruby red (or black) was the color I was initially aiming for, but I could never find one in my area, sadly. I have a white '07 😊
@@samone_231 The white, dark blue, and ruby red are my favorites for sure. rarely ever see another sky on the road, but it's always a joy lmao. sky gang sky gang
@@SwiftMCy Yeah, you really don't see them at all anymore, so I'm like a kid in a candy store every time I do see one lol. And it's honestly even better whenever I come across people who own them!
I have a 2007 one I bought 3 months ago with 126,000 miles from a BHPH lot for $7,500 in cash and it's been a great touring car. LNF and the AR-5 combo is a fun cruiser. My 05 SS/SC Cobalt was great, but the Sky is a fun replacement.
Hey Matt I’m currently on vacation in Guadalajara, Mexico and I have seen so many crazy cars from Raptors, Subies, Mazda Cx5’s, CX50’s, so many Range Rovers lol
Some suggestions Matt: More POV uploads on the twisties. ↪️ More road trips.👍🏾 More insight of your journalist trips. Bring us into the conferences and meet and greets. 🙂
I think one of the primary reasons I love this car so much is the fact that they are nowhere near sought after. Fingers crossed, the fact the kappa platform is disliked means the price will keep dropping, I’ll have time to cop one hehe, then the prices will surge when people finally get their heads outta their butts and realize it’s a better Miata. Love the review!
Cars like this are often overlooked because xyz other options were faster or had a better badge, but people are definitely missing out . The price you can find these at is astonishing.
Late to the party- current Redline owner. The Sky along with its GM cousin the Solstice were very underrated cars. GM's answer to the Miata as an affordable roadster. Yes, the Kappa platform has many quirky features to its design. Hard plastic interior, GM's bargain parts bin, suspect cup holders, lack of storage or trunk space. However- the stock turbo version is upgradable. GMPP adds a factory tune, different air intake with warranty. Aftermarket parts changes the platform- once again into a real canyon carver. What you didn't try during your drive was the competition mode- turning off the TC & ESC features and by dropping this transmission down a gear- into 2nd gear with the limited slip differential, I think you will get that tail happy experience you were looking for Matt. My car has been almost bullet proof in the 13 years I've owned it. Affordable. Reliable, even as a daily driver. Good gas mpg. Low insurance rate. Easy DIY repairs. They are becoming a rare car in the auto market these days. Attracts attention everywhere I go, even to this day. What you need to find & drive/review Matt- is a "Mallett" version of this model. A whole different animal. LS2/LS3 or even an LS7 with a manual trans.
FWIW, GM did/does offer a tune that took the OEM 260HP, to 290HP. Torque rating was dependent on transmission, 325TQ for autos, 345TQ with manuals. It was covered by the factory warranty when they had them. Aftermarket (Trifecta, HPTuners, RPM-Motorsports) tunes take those numbers even higher, and they are cheaper than the factory tune.
Fun fact, if you don't like direct injection, the base model's 2.4L N/A powertrain coupled with the 2.0L's turbo setup (especially the later 290 HP version) will net you around 377, just shy of 400 HP).
Didn't watch this video but saw some of your Bullitt video. Sorry to hear about your troubles, maybe a better title would help this video, packaging overall is super important because if people don't click, they don't watch. My idea to improve the title is just to remove the word "Review", or at least put it behind the headline of the video, like "2007 Saturn Sky Red Line Review - Criminally Underrated". I think something else that may help the channel overall would be to come up with a new format. I know you said in other comments you wouldn't want to do a build series since you don't enjoy working on cars, but something along those lines is what people want to see. Not exactly a build series of course, but people love seeing something more personal, where they really get to see who you are, what makes you interesting, and what you really love to share with viewers. Also, what about selling your Bullitt on Cars and Bids? You could do a deeper dive into the process and share how things go, which would definitely be interesting to me. I can see there are a couple videos already with this content, but none with an audience as large as yours.
