Kappa: 2007 Saturn Sky Red Line Turbo

GM’s Kappa platform was launched in 2006 with the Pontiac Solstice and the Saturn Sky followed a year later.  Unfortunately the 2008 recession/carpocalpyse killed the Skystice before it was more than a few years old….but in those few years GM managed to sell 100,124 examples (34,400 Sky, 65,724 Solstic) and they make great used drivers today.  Find this 2007 Saturn Sky Red Line here on eBay offered for $11,995 buy-it-now located in Chatsworth, CA.

If you are going to get a US market Kappa car, I prefer the Sky because it doesn’t have the  nasty Pontiac Nostrgrill up front, but the Skys are harder to find, particularly in the hopped up Redline trim.  The Redline was the Sky equivalent to the Solstice GXP — both shipped standard with turbocharged engines, sporty suspension and limited slip out back.

The LNF 2.0 liter EcoTec inline-4 is a direction injection, turbocharged and inter-cooled gem of a little engine and even though the stock 260 horsepower tune is a bit conservative, a dealer or aftermarket chip tune will give you a solid 300 horsepower and 300 ft-lbs of torque.  Zero to sixty mph in sub 5 seconds will keep you happy and most modern competition (Miata, MR2, BRZ/FRS, Z3/Z4) will get a great view of those classic taillights. 

On the inside you might recognize some items from other GM product…the Kappa platform used a mixed breed of components from the GM
parts room –Rear axle and diff from the Sigma-based Cadillac CTS;
Steering wheel is from the Delta-based Pontiac G5, Passenger-side
airbag, steering column, and door handles from the Cobalt; backup lights
are from the GMC Envoy; HVAC parts are from the Hummer; 2.4 L Ecotec
engine was shared with the Saturn Ion, Pontiac G6, Chevrolet Cobalt,
Pontiac G5, and Chevrolet HHR; The 5-speed manual gearbox was also used
on Hummer H3, GMC Canyon, and Chevrolet Colorado.

See another low mile daily driver for cheap? tips@dailyturismo.com