Evolution. No, this whip has nothing to do with diamond-stars and 4G63s; rather the natural progression of things. A species' ability to adapt to its surroundings is key to its survival. Imagine you're on a safari in the African savannah (far-fetched, yes, but stay with me here) and it's hotter than a crowded club with poor ventilation when out of nowhere, a wooly mammoth pops out of the brush, huge tusks, thick hair and sweating like, well, a wooly mammoth in Africa. Heavy fur and really, really long tusks might've worked during the ice age, but in an era of global warming the only thing you'd be really, really longing for was evolution. And that's what the blue car is, Rhys Millen's form-altering leap to stay ahead of the times.
With competition in the Formula D series heating up worse than the greenhouse effect, Rhys had begun feeling some of the aging effects of his Pontiac GTO. While the vehicle is more than competitive--after all, he did win last year's title--as both driver and team owner, Rhys is responsible for exploring new methods to push his skills and his crew (his nickname is Mad Skills, after all). Skills and scrappiness, mind you, that stem from the great Millen racing blood like that of William Wallace. Skills that include years of Rally racing, off-road, and Hollywood stunt driving (boots may've been made for walking out on Dukes of Hazzard, but Rhys' CGI-less sequences more than made up for the plot). In order to accentuate his strengths, GM paired him up with their spanking new RWD convertible, the Pontiac Solstice GXP, which is bound to raise a question or two from the entire 12 of you that actually read our stories (oooh, pretty letters make words and story).
Why the Solstice GXP you ask? 'Cause it's the hot new compact convertible platform from Pontiac and it's a helluva lot lighter and much more agile than the GTO. "The car is some 650 pounds lighter than the GTO and we're running the same wheel and tire combination...the grip factor is huge compared to the GTO," explains Rhys. Wide 18x8 and 18x9.5 Racing Hart CPS-10 wheels wrapped in Bridgestone RE-01 stickies fill that grip factor, while grippier still are the Rotora micro 6-piston forged calipers up front, with a pair--as in dos--of 2-piston forged calipers in the rear.
Well, the wheelbase is shorter on the smaller GXP so handling's probably wack, right? Err, no, as Rhys points out, "where I have three feet of overhang behind me, the GTO had eight...the [Solstice] is very agile and it gives me the responsiveness from the steering that I require." Dramatically improved steering angle--courtesy of the engineers at Roush Industries, who custom fabricated A-arms, tie rod ends, toe links, and solid bushings--also allows the crew to fine-tune the Solstice's alignment. Eibach ERS coilovers paired with Penske dampeners were installed for enhanced responsiveness as well as a Z06-spec Tremec T56 transmission, Exedy clutch and GM CTS-V LSD for added bite during tight course turns.