The Pontiac Solstice Lives On As A “Tauro V8”

Some may argue that the best years for the Pontiac Motor Division was during its final decade. Before you think we’re nuts, just think about it for a minute. We had the LS1-powered Firebirds, the reborn GTO, the G8, and for the first time since the mid-1980’s, a V8-powered Grand Prix and Bonneville.

The cherry on the cake was the Solstice roadster, and although it never received a V8 from the factory like Bob Lutz once implied, it was still a terrific car in many aspects.  ^[2]

Unfortunately, the car met an untimely death when Pontiac had its plug pulled, and many potential buyers had stepped up to purchase the rights to manufacture the chassis. GM was being stingy at the time, so up until now, no one could get their hands on the Kappa platform to reproduce it.

Thanks to our friends over at MotorAuhority.com ^[3], we’ve received word that’s it’s back. Sort of. Three years after GM’s bankruptcy, Tauro, a company in Spain, has purchased the Kappa platform and is now building it as the Spider V8.

The V8 in question is none other than the same LS3 found in the current Corvette, and can be had with either an automatic gearbox or that of the 6-speed manual variety. The only difference in the Tauro’s LS3 as opposed to the Corvette’s is a total output of 440HP and 442lb.-ft. of torque.

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At a glance, it look like a Solstice with a bodykit, but the attention is in the details.

But the Spanish aren’t known for leaving things alone, so in the event that a customer craves more power from the already potent small block, Tauro will upgrade the cylinder heads and camshaft for an increase to 480HP. Still not enough? Then check the box for the supercharger option, and you’ll have 650HP under your right foot.

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The Tauro Spider interior is quite plush, and definitely an improvement over that of the departed Solstice.

Tauro plans an abbreviated run of 30 cars total, and only two are currently spoken for. The Spider isn’t exactly what you would call inexpensive either at roughly $125,000 a pop. But for the money, they’ll be happy to include a cozy leather interior and will paint it in virtually any color you want.