It has been over a decade for the reason that final of the Kappa sports activities vehicles from Normal Motors rolled off the meeting line. In the USA, the platform-sharing lineup consisted of the Saturn Sky and Pontiac Solstice, however overseas, the Kappa was generally known as each the Daewoo G2X in Korea and the Opel GT in Europe. No matter model you bought, it shared loads of components with many different vehicles. Radios, steering wheels, HVAC controls, and extra.
That is sometimes seen as a foul factor. Sports activities vehicles needs to be particular, and sharing components with the lowly Chevy Cobalt was by no means seen as a premium function. The parts-sharing and cost-cutting measures went additional than you suppose, although. In not less than one occasion, it has unintended advantages.
In an obvious effort to save cash, the Kappa vehicles all use the identical wheel bearings back and front. This will not appear that uncommon, however it’s fairly unusual. Most RWD vehicles from BMW, for example, have two totally different units of bearings. The rear wheels are the one ones being pushed. Due to this fact they’re the one set with splines to mate as much as a CV axle. In the event you store for Saturn Sky or Pontiac Solstice wheel bearings, you may discover they’re all the identical no-matter the nook you want. Likewise, the again of the entrance spindles even has clearance to accommodate an axle.
The explanations for which are unclear. So I will go off the deep finish on this stunning Monday morning to elucidate. Be a part of me, will not you?
I used to personal a Sky Redline. It was loads of enjoyable. With a tune and a set of recent MAP sensors, it was a 280-wheel-horsepower automotive with nice steering, a brief wheelbase, and the transmission proper out of a pickup truck. If I nonetheless had it, I’d be crawling beneath making an attempt to determine a option to convert it to all-wheel-drive.
Each the Sky and the Solstice had front-hinged, hydroformed hoods. How cool is that?
Typical AWD can be an enormous ache so as to add. Simply ask pal of the web site Tim Roman, who transformed his S550 Mustang to spin all 4 tires in anger. It takes loads of time, ability, and endurance to do. I solely have the primary of these issues.
The simpler option to do that can be a hybrid system, much like the one I am placing collectively now for my light-weight sports activities automotive challenge. In essence, this implies a homebrew electrical entrance drive unit mixed with a battery and inverter. With out going extraordinarily excessive voltage, you possibly can nonetheless get 50 kilowatts to the entrance tires, a good 67 hp.
There’s not less than one good mechanical half in regards to the Kappa platform which permits this, in concept. The engine is about very far again within the engine bay, which suggests there is a honest quantity of house between the entrance face of the accent drive and the again of the radiator. I believe if it wanted to be, the radiator may very well be shrunk vertically and made thicker so as to add some extra space for a motor and differential.
A cutaway of the Kappa platform.
The toughest half about all of that is making room for the axles within the suspension. The entrance shocks must be relocated, modified out, or each. I believe the perfect answer can be so as to add a fork on the backside of a brand new, shorter strut to go across the driveshaft, much like the Corvette E-Ray’s association. This might take loads of time and experience to get proper. Likewise, I am prepared to gamble {that a} honest quantity of the underbody construction must be minimize up after which strengthened.
So far as different particulars like battery location, that is a simple one. The Kappa’s trunk is laughably ineffective anyway, so filling it with power-dense batteries would lastly give it a objective. Likewise, this could offset the burden of the brand new entrance drive unit.
The Corvette E-Ray’s entrance suspension fastidiously avoids the CV axle added when the automotive goes AWD.
General, that is only a concept. Changing an admittedly area of interest automotive to an all-wheel-drive hybrid can be an enormous challenge. The truth that among the Kappa platform’s parts-binning makes this doable in any respect is humorous, although. It might positively be cheaper than placing a V-8 within the automotive, which is well the most typical large mod folks do to those issues.
In the event you’re on the lookout for a challenge and you have got a pair grand burning a gap in your pocket, it is price getting just a little bizarre.