I traded in my 2007 Solstice GXP for my Camaro. Ever drive a Sol GXP?
In addition to being gorgeous, the car has a nice chassis, 49/51 weight distribution, and with a full factory warranty behind it, you can have the car make 290 bhp and 340 lb/ft, and that's from a 2.0L 4 cylinder. Chassis feels like a hardtop even with the roof down. Since it's RWD, there's no vibration through the wheel. The car feels like a mild V8 powers it. With VVT and variable vaen turbo, there is zero turbo lag. My Sol GXP was a little rocket and had nice tech like sodium filled valves. The LS3's tech? Roller cam? OK, I like it just fine and I like the LS3 too because I'm a pushrod V8 fan. But that's all we get?
Look at the torque curves and do the math, comparing the 1SS Camaro and the Sol GXP with the factory upgrades. It approaches the power to weight ratio of a 1SS, and the torque curve of the LS3 is peaky by comparison; the LNF's torque curve is flat flat flat to redline unless you have the factory upgrade, in which case it just goes
up until redline. The Solstice GXP with the GMPP upgrade has more torque available in relation to weight at most any rpm, under the curve, than the 1SS. The 1SS has more torque in raw numbers but let's face it, we all live under the curve. That's while getting 25 mpg around town and 31 on the highway.
The solstice shifter doesn't look like a gimp mask, either, and the shifts are crisp, unlike the stick-in-the-mud manual in my Camaro
My 2007 Solstice GXP would outrun my 1SS Camaro at any stoplight grand prix. The Camaro's long legs in second gear would make it win at the 1/4 mile track though. On a road course, I don't feel the Camaro has any advantage over my old GXP because in my opinion, the LS3 is way too peaky and needs more torque at lower rpms to get our overweight Camaros moving.
Don't like the Solstice all you like but 'barely a step up from a Miata'? You never drove one, my friend